The Macedonian-Bulgarian dispute can be resolved only if the dignity of both the Macedonian and the Bulgarian people is respected, and by avoiding the dangerous trap of historical revisionism when it is based on political constructions instead of facts, said President Stevo Pendarovski in an interview with Deutsche Welle, following the views expressed by Prime Minister Zaev in Wednesday’s shocking interview with the Bulgarian BGNES agency.
“Our public knows that I am the first Macedonian politician in history to publicly offer a broader political discourse regarding one of the greatest apostles of the Macedonian revolutionary movement. However, I did not go further, because it is the work of a Commission composed of historians, and not the work of politicians. We have discussed this topic with Prime Minister Zaev many times and we have never had a dispute that some personalities and events can be celebrated on both sides, but that the Macedonian people have their own history, just as the Bulgarian people have their own. At the same time, in all my public appearances I clearly say that the anti-fascist struggle is built into the foundations of the modern Macedonian state and in that struggle, we fought against those who were on the side of the fascists. My 20-year experience in international politics allows me to accurately measure the words and views I express when talking to my Bulgarian interlocutors and our friends from the international community. And I clearly tell each of them that the Macedonian-Bulgarian dispute can be resolved only if the dignity of both the Macedonian and the Bulgarian people is respected and by avoiding the dangerous trap of historical revisionism when it is based on political constructions instead of facts,” said Pendarovski in his interview with Deutsche Welle.
