SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
PM Zoran Zaev is adamant that the adjective “Macedonian” cements the identity and language. As he said on Saturday, he regrets that the meeting of the Joint Commission saw no progress. Both sides had neither inventiveness nor courage, the PM stated, commenting on the Bulgarian side’s stand on the adjective “Macedonian”. According to Zaev, even Bulgarian Defence Minister and Deputy PM Krasimir Karakachanov uses the adjective. In his view, Skopje and Sofia should discuss about something that is joint, not that divides them. The Special Representative for Bulgaria, former PM Vlado Buckovski, like Zaev, is optimistic a solution will be found. In an interview with a Bulgarian medium, he says the Government in Skopje is aware it should draw up a roadmap to show it is firmly committed to implementing the 2017 deal. Also on Saturday, VMRO-DPMNE staged a new protest. “Zaev is negotiating on the identity and lying to the whole Macedonian public,” protesters said. DUI President Ali Ahmeti told Kanal 5 TV he expected Bulgaria to overcome the sensitive topics because not losing the step in terms of EU membership was of great interest to Macedonia.
