Bulgarian Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov, who is staking the election hopes of his VMRO-BND party on pushing a hard line against Macedonia, blamed the Macedonian historians who are in the joint committee of obstinacy. “Like donkeys on a bridge”, Karakachanov said, implying that the politicians in Macedonia are willing to accept Bulgarian demands, but not the historians appointed to the joint committee.
Karakachanov, himself a historian, says that historians may claim to be Martians and that Samuel fell from Mars, but that would not be true.
Bulgaria has always helped Macedonia, we were the first to recognize their independence, we helped them during the embargo. We expected a collegial relationship, but instead we got sneaky games, VMRO-BND leader Karakachanov said.