On Saturday, PM Hristijan Mickoski was asked a question about the meeting held earlier between DUI leader Ali Ahmeti and Bulgarian Ambassador Zhelyazko Radukov at which it had been said that the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia was a reality.
“Figures show whether that is a reality or not. Math is an exact science. According to those figures, several hundred people use Bulgarian as their mother tongue. We cannot say that they don’t exist. We should also say the number of Bulgarians in Albania is 7-8 times higher than their number in Macedonia. That, too, is a reality.
We cannot say they are not a reality. However, the Macedonian community in Bulgaria, too, is a reality, when one takes a look at the numbers. So, if one now talks about including Bulgarians in the Constitution, we should then talk about and take a look at also rights of the Macedonian community in Bulgaria, and compare them, the reality of the Macedonian community in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian community in our country. Then, we will be able to draw true conclusions.
We cannot mix apples with oranges. We must compare things on equal grounds. So, I don’t find that a topic for daily politics. That’s a topic I should talk about strategically, with a vision, because that topic should open our path to and guarantee EU membership on the basis of Copenhagen criteria,” the PM stressed.