Northern Macedonia’s EU / Osmani Talks: Wisdom, Not Emotions Needed on Bulgaria Issue

He said that after February 17 there will be meetings of more working groups, including those on textbooks, culture and European integration.

Osmani said that the positions of the Macedonian side remain unchanged on issues related to language and identity, which are also at the heart of the dispute, as Sofia insists that Skopje acknowledge that they have “Bulgarian roots” until 1945.

“Our state positions are clear and there are no changes. “The most important issue for us is the identity issues in the framework of negotiations as a European solution, for them the issue of the rights of the Bulgarian community in the Republic of Northern Macedonia and in a way this identifies the path that this process should take,” he said. declared Osmani.

According to him, the opening of the Constitution and the recognition of Bulgarians as a minority in Macedonia is part of the state policy towards ethnic communities. He said that if there is nothing controversial about the recognition of Montenegrins and Croats as a minority, then why there should be a problem in the request for the inclusion in the constitution of Bulgarian citizens.

Osmani said that in the dialogue with Sofia it is necessary to act “with a cold head and a hot heart”.

“My ultimate goal is for Northern Macedonia to become a European country, to normalize relations with its neighbors, while preserving what is most important to the citizens.” For this we need more wisdom in action than emotions… But the citizens can be calm that we will not allow anything that is essential for their identity to be violated “, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani.

The governments of the two countries on January 25 in Sofia have formed several working groups which in the next six months should lay the foundations of economic cooperation in several areas, which then approach the essence of the problem related to the issue of language and identity./REL

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