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On his first visit to Skopje, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov tried to soften the tone.
“I am very optimistic that there will be new developments in our relations and I can assure you that the results will be visible every week,” Petkov told a joint news conference with Dimitar Kovacevski, who was sworn in as prime minister. of Northern Macedonia on Monday. The previous Bulgarian government, led by Boyko Borisov, demanded that Northern Macedonia recognize the Macedonian nation and language as Bulgarian. This ultimatum was rejected by official Skopje, which said it was contrary to European principles and the right to self-determination.
The Skopje executive immediately took the first step towards compromise, hours before Petkov’s visit, informing the United Nations that the name “Northern Macedonia” and its longer version “Republic of Northern Macedonia” refers only to the state. and not a wider geographical region. So far, Sofia has claimed that the short version includes territorial aspirations towards Bulgaria and its region, “Macedonia Pirin”.
“Yes, there is hope, because we finally heard the magic word ‘compromise’,” Ivaylo Ditchev, a political analyst and professor of Cultural Anthropology at Sofia University in Bulgaria, told DW. “One of the idiotic demands of Bulgaria was to always use the long version of the name ‘Republic of Northern Macedonia’.
They then began to dispel this claim, Skopje declaring that there were no claims of territorial inclusion towards the Pirin region. Macedonian political analyst Saso Ordanoski predicts a possible deal in the coming months, which could open the door for Skopje to launch the EU accession process as talks with Sofia continue at bilateral level, raising hopes for an unblocking solution. of negotiations for Albania as well.
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