Premier of North Macedonia: We Don’t Have Shared History with Bulgaria, We Have Common History

We don't have a shared history. We have a common history. Gotse Delchev was a revolutionary for both Bulgarians and Macedonians, he fought for the freedom of Macedonia and Edirne region. We inherited time that was not favorable for friendship between us. Yugoslavia was dividing us. If we don't acknowledge the mistakes of history, we can't build the future. This is what Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev said in an interview with BGNES.

"We declare that we have no territorial nor minority claims, that the name North Macedonia refers to the Republic of North Macedonia, so we made a proposal for Bulgarian aircraft to guard the Macedonian sky. That is why we have announced a roadmap to take commitments that will have a legal effect and will be for the benefit of the citizens of both Macedonia and Bulgaria", said Zaev.

"As for historical figures from the Middle Ages, from King Samuel and before, from Cyril and Methodius, from Clement and Naum, we have fixed the dates for joint celebrations, we have protocols. I believe both sides are now ready to announce them because we have to put them in school textbooks. Because new generations don't know all of these historical facts which must bring us together. In both North Macedonia and Bulgaria, this affects people in a very wrong way. We need to change that. We already have replaced more than 20 signs in the country, which read "Bulgarian fascist occupier," the Prime Minister of North Macedonia added."