SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
The Joint Commission on Historical Issues will have its first meeting of the year on Friday, following the December fiasco when both sides said talks were deadlocked. At the meeting in abbreviated format, as Kanal 5 has learned, there will be no material discussion. The whole focus will be on trying to resolve the misunderstandings over the use of the adjective “Macedonian”, which the Bulgarian side is problematizing and which is why both Macedonian and Bulgarian historians refuse to sign the minutes of the last three meetings of the Commission. Ahead of the meeting, the opposition VMRO-DPMNE expressed doubts over the recent dismissal of one of the members of the Macedonian team of historians. The vice president of the party, Vlado Misajlovski, asked for answers from Prime Minister Zaev, whether there is an attempt to put pressure on the other members of the Commission behind the dismissal. Prime Minister Zaev clarified that it is a matter of filling the already vacant position of a member of the Commission, whose mandate has expired.
