Plevneliev: Bulgaria wants Skopje to maintain good neighborly relations

Bulgaria wants to receive guarantees that the agreements will be respected and we will have good neighborly relations. If we receive these guarantees, we will support the negotiation process.

This was stated in an exclusive interview for BGNES by Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria / 2012-2017 / about the prospects of Bulgarian-Macedonian relations.

In the EU there is no place for historical falsification, nor for hate speech, nor educating young people and the whole society in hatred of a neighboring country and an EU Member State.

RN Macedonia cannot solve the problem with Bulgaria if it does not accept European values. If a society is not yet ready to accept the rule of law, the truth of history, good neighborly relations, the renunciation of hate speech - it is not ready for EU membership. Harmful ideologies from the past must remain in the past.

As long as there is no political will for good neighborliness, we will believe that this society is not ready and does not want to accept European values. Therefore, it will be increasingly difficult for Bulgaria to agree to give the green light.

There is nothing more off-putting than falsifying history. The history is as it is, as it happened and cannot be manipulated. We do not dispute the right of RN Macedonia to have a country, to have a language and to call themselves whatever they want. It is not in RNM's interest to stop the construction of Corridor No.8 and maintain rural road infrastructure for connecting with Bulgaria.

The NATO membership is geopolitics and that is why Bulgaria agreed to the membership of RN Macedonia. /BGNES