Our goal is to recognize the shared history, to celebrate together those heroes who
declared themselves as Bulgarians, but fought for the ideals of Macedonia. What is
the problem to say – yes, the language that is official according to their Constitution
dates back to 1945 and is based on the Bulgarian language. What is the problem to
say that? We do not dispute their identity, we were the first to recognize the Republic
of Macedonia. There is no legal norm for the recognition of a nation and a language,
said Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva.
Bulgaria has been one of the most serious supporters of North Macedonia for years
and I really want to say – we have signed an agreement, the two prime ministers
have signed this agreement and it is not good to dispute what is written in it, said
Zakharieva.
"We had an agreement with N. Macedonia back in 1999, which was confirmed by the
Treaty on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation and in which we agreed
on what to call the official language, according to the Constitutions of both countries.
That's the formula we agreed on and we should stick to it."
