site.btaNorth Macedonia's Foreign Minister: People from North Macedonia Have Called in Sofia to Obstruct Negotiation Process

At his weekly briefing, North Macedonia's Foreign Affairs Minister Bujar Osmani said that attempts have been made to delay the Western Balkans' progress towards the EU through "proxy players". He gave as an example how during the week people from North Macedonia, among whom officials at state institutions, had called in Bulgaria in an attempt to keep the bilateral issue open and obstruct North Macedonia's EU integration process. 

In a report about Osmani's briefing on Sunday, the Bulgarian bTV said that the Republic of North Macedonia expels five Russian diplomats on account of activities in breach of the Vienna Convention, including acts connected with Bulgaria. The Russian diplomats in question are to leave North Macedonia within the next five days.

During the briefing Osmani described as "hopeful" the last two meetings of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission of Experts on Historical and Educational Issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Osmani recalled that the definition in 2019 of the common celebration of five historical figures was followed by lack of constructivеness in the historians' talks.

Significant progress has been made in the political part of the bilateral talks, he noted but specified that there is not a specific comprehensive document yet. The next meeting between him and his Bulgarian counterpart Teodora Genchovska will be held in Brussels. A decision on a second intergovernmental meeting, following the first in Sofia in January, will be made soon, Osmani said at Sunday's briefing.

A day earlier, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said in a televised interview that there clearly is Russian interference in Bulgaria specifically when it comes to the Western Balkans and North Macedonia. In his words, Russian interests are directed against the Western Balkans' European future and against the friendly relations between Sofia and Skopje.