SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov said at a press conference in Sofia, after a meeting with PM of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski, that lift of the Bulgarian blockade for the start of the EU accession talks for North Macedonia is realistic in the upcoming period. “Soon we expect good news about lifting of the Bulgarian veto for North Macedonia and start of the talks for EU membership, a process of great importance in context of what is currently happening in Ukraine. I was also notified by the Committee on Historical Affairs that they have achieved significant progress in the discussions with their colleagues from Skopje, which will open possibilities for agreement and lifting of the blockade. I am glad that we are able to overcome difficult disputes which seemed impossible to deal with in the past. North Macedonia belongs in the European family, and should be integrated as soon as possible, and our government here in Sofia remains dedicated on realisation of that goal. Our bilateral relations are significantly improved over the past three months, and I am glad we mark some progress in all fields,” Petkov said, but did not reveal over which topics the Historical Affairs Committee reached agreements. PM Kovacevski also did not reveal details about the aforementioned agreements. “Over the past months, our countries implemented practical projects which brought us closer together. We improved communication between educational institutions, we established a direct airline Skopje-Sofia, and initiated mutual infrastructural projects. Still, it will take us some more time and effort to resolve all bilateral issues. However, I am glad that over the past months we only hear about the good cooperation between our countries, and not about provocations and attempts for drifting us apart or obstructing our integration in EU,” Kovacevski said.
