Zaharieva: Progress is Insufficient in Order to Approve Negotiations Framework

After meeting held in Berlin between Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and Macedonian counterparts Nikola Dimitrov and Bujar Osmani, mediated by the first German diplomats Ministers Heiko Maas and Michael Roth, Zaharieva stated that there is progress in the open issues, but that Sofia is still not ready to say “yes” to Macedonia. “So far, however, even after five hours of talks in Berlin, we are still not able to approve the framework for negotiations for Macedonia, but we are actively working with the German presidency and colleagues from Macedonia,” stated Minister Zaharieva. According to Zaharieva, Bulgaria does not deviate from the condition for Macedonia to give up the existence of Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. Regarding the language, for which Sofia in European documents pushes the wording as an official language in accordance with the constitution, Zaharieva estimates that good progress has been made.