Bulgaria's PM: "Good Neighbourly Agreement with Macedonia is Very Close"

A good neighbourly relations agreement between Bulgaria and Macedonia is very close to being finalised, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said after the meeting with the recently elected Prime Minister of Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, held in Sofia on 20^th of June.

Zaev described today's visit as a historic moment for the bilateral relations and thanked Bulgaria for the friendly help for the Euro-Atlantic future of Macedonia. The Bulgarian Prime Minister pointed out that our country would continue to support Macedonia on its way to NATO and the EU, but said everything was in the hands of the Macedonian political elite.

PM Borissov and Zaev visited the monumnet to Tzar Samuil in Sofia.

"Should we continue to be separated, after many countries have set an example of how they develop when they commemorate their heroes and historical personalities together? So we decided with Prime Minister Zaev to go to the monument of Tsar Samuil. This is something we can celebrate together," Borissov said.

"After Zaev takes this risk to come to Samuil's monument, on 2^nd of August we will do the same thing when the Ilinden uprising is celebrated,”Borissov said and added that this was the reason why he picked Saint Elijah's Day for his visit to Macedonia.

“I am confident that If we concentrate on infrastructure projects, both the Balkans and other countries will be different in 10-15 years," he said.

“We're very close to finalizing the agreement on good neighbourly relations,” the Bulgarian PM noted. These are terms that we want to be written so that there is no discussion and opportunity for claims from one or the other parts," he added.

Borissov also said he hoped the foreign ministers of the two countries on 2^nd of August, with their teams, would find the right solution.

He said that the agreement would be good both for Brussels and the citizens of the two countries.

For his part, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he was convinced that on 2^nd of August, Macedonia and Bulgaria would sign the agreement on good neighbourly relations.

"What we are doing now is more valuable than any treaty," he said. “This is an act of paying homage to the common history. This is much more valuable than any treaty. These are small details, ” Zaev said and added that the goal was for the agreement to be signed during Borissov's visit in Macedonia 2^nd of August.

Borissov said that if Macedonia did not make efforts, no one could help it with NATO and EU membership.

"We can support them, consult them, if they want, on some topics. We have an open heart. It all depends on the political elite in Macedonia, if they fail to make the important steps, whatever help they get will not be enough. If we work together, I think we will be successful. The Balkans are in the focus of both the EU and NATO," Borissov said.

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