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"The future of North Macedonia is in the EU and should not play with this opportunity. We have no nearer people. It is important to be admitted to the EU, but it is important to understand that it is up to them. So I appeal to end the games with the history, the past, and focus on the future, "said the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, alluding to disputes with Skopje over the background of certain historical personalities from the past, in particular of Goce Delchev, whom the two states consider a hero.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has said Sofia does not want to be an obstacle to the date for the talks on northern Macedonia, but he also sought reflection from official Skopje.
"We have never said that we will support its EU membership without conditions. We have 71 tools to do this during the process of chapters opening. Therefore, I appeal to end games with history and past and concentrate on the future," Radev said.
Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, commenting on the positions of Bulgarian officials, expressed confidence in reaching an agreement between the two states on the contentious issue, but Zaev said at least he expected Bulgaria to be an obstacle to the date of the talks.
"I believe that this chapter of history will also be closed and we will find a definitive solution as we strengthen our friendship, which is our goal," he said. We will seriously consider messages from Sofia, but I think there is no room for concern. I believe that Bulgaria will be one of the biggest supporters of the North Macedonia integration process at the European Council Summit, after 15 years of waiting for candidate status to receive the date of talks”, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev stated.
Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria reached a good neighborly agreement on August 1, 2017, but its implementation has not yet been achieved due to differences between the two countries on the ethnic background of some personalities from the past.