Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani voiced assurance Saturday that Bulgaria’s strategic interest is to see North Macedonia join the EU, believing that all differences would be settled through intensive communication and resumption of the work of the joint commission on historical issues.
“I am convinced that intensive communication is the right approach. A gap in communication is always filled by something else – misunderstandings, diverse outside influence etc. The most important thing is to establish intensive communication so that the gap is not filled by someone else’s agenda,” FM Osmani told reporters.
Osmani and Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zakharieva have agreed over the intensification of high-level meetings, along with continuation of the joint commission’s work, while insisting that bilateral discussions take place within the instruments of the Friendship Treaty.
He said the Bulgarian memorandum steered away from the principles of the Treaty, which objective was exactly that – to create a framework and instruments for overcoming of decades-long differences.
“We have a strategy, we know what we are doing, we have red lines when defending the national, state interests. I firmly stand in the defense of those interests and rest assured that our smart policies that led to the decision for the start of accession negotiations will also be lead to their opening,” noted Osmani.
He added that the commission should continue its work, free from the shackles of politics, based on authentic historical data, finding ways to interpret different aspects.
