It depends on official Sofia whether there will be a meeting this month, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, between North Macedonia’s President, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, and Bulgarian PM Rosen Zhelyazkov. On Saturday, PM Hristijan Mickoski stated that there was communication with Brussels on a daily basis.
Also, he said there was a draft-time for the meeting, with an answer being awaited from the eastern neighbor.
Siljanovska Davkova has said she is ready to meet the Bulgarian PM, too, adding however that that is a proposal by European Council President Antonio Costa. When it comes to the 36th meeting of the North Macedonia-Bulgaria Joint Commission on Historical Affairs, held in Skopje, draft-recommendations concerning textbooks for seventh-graders in North Macedonia, as well as potential joint celebrations, were among the topics discussed.
“Regarding the draft-recommendations, the different views and standpoints again came to the fore. When it comes to potential joint celebrations, there was a discussion in principle, not on concrete proposals”, North Macedonia’s team said.
Regardless of the different opinions and approaches, that team pointed out it insisted on a proactive course, saying it was committed, at the same time, to finding constructive and sustainable solutions based on positive European practices, with mutual respect of the right to a different perception of the past. The meeting also saw the dynamism of work in the second half of the year determined.
The previous day, the possibility of the two countries jointly celebrating Goce Delcev, too, had been announced.
“We will talk about seventh-grade textbooks in North Macedonia and about the possibility of joint celebration of Goce Delcev”, the head of Bulgaria’s team, Angel Dimitrov stated.