Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva advised Macedonia to stop trying to get other European countries to pressure Bulgaria in the growing historic dispute. Germany tried to intervene in the dispute, and after it failed, Slovakia and the Czech Republic blocked Bulgaria’s attempt to force EU candidate countries to adapt their historic narratives to those of member states.

Expectations from Macedonia that somebody will exert pressure on us and that we will give up on the implementation of the Friendship Treaty and the decisions of our Parliament are not realistic. I told them not to count on that, that is not how the EU works, Zaharieva said in an interview.

She blamed Macedonia for not implementing the treaty signed by Zaev and Borisov in 2017, which requires Macedonia to adapt its historic narrative to Bulgarian demands.

Zaharieva also accused Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski of distorting the dispute in the public when he says that Bulgaria wants to undermine the uniqueness of the Macedonian language and identity. “Nobody denies the right to self-determination and free expression. The language is not an unsurmountable obstacle for the integration of the Republic of (North) Macedonia. The President knows very well what the issue is about and he should not twist the issues”, Zaharieva said.