Regarding the statement of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev that Bulgaria wants clear guarantees for its national security and its national interests, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaevsaid that there will be no dilemmas to deliver the guarantees.

We are a peaceful people and one can only expect building friendship and cooperation from us, says Zaev.

In an interview with “Fokus”, Zaev added that if one refers to the short and long name, North Macedonia was the same as the Republic of North Macedonia and refers exactly to the country without any territorial claims to Bulgaria or other neighbors.”

Definitely, I think that President Radev, who is a European leader, can make a positive step, which will give a chance to our friendship to develop and grow instead of leaving a mark between the two peoples, said Zaev.

He expressed satisfaction with creative forms of proposals that Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Silva and EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi recently presented after visiting Sofia and Skopje, and hoped that at the end of the day the European Union would deliver what it is expected.

It is important that we get what we expect as a minimum, and that is to take care of the pure Macedonian language and Macedonian identity, said Zaev, reiterating that European leaders and EU members have confirmed that the arguments are on our side and given the conditions in Bulgaria, which has a caretaker government, it is expected that in the coming period, after the meeting of the General Affairs Council, our country will start with the first intergovernmental conference.

Regarding the proposal of the opposition to cancel the agreement and make a new one, with more international guarantees, Prime Minister Zaev says that it is very unserious to cancel the agreement, which has already begun to be implemented and for which much remains to be done, reiterating that identity and language are already established red lines that neither the Government nor the Union can discuss and change.