The Bulgarian diplomacy has used the annual meeting of the Central European Initiative /CEI/ that took place in Ohrid to intensify its contacts with Skopje and get better acquainted with the situation in Macedonia in the context of the smoldering political crisis there.

During the meeting of the CEI, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov shared the common position that the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the region had no alternative and that economic development and political stability can only be guaranteed this way.

The meetings of Minister Mitov with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Poposki, President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and opposition leaders were of great importance for the Bulgarian foreign policy. The main topic of discussions was the signing of an agreement for good neighbourly relations and friendship between Bulgaria and Macedonia. This project has been delayed because of the obvious unwillingness of the authorities in Skopje to take the necessary steps. The agreement in question was proposed by Sofia, in order to introduce some basic rules of communication between EU members or countries on the way of becoming members of the EU. If we leave behind the language of diplomacy, it becomes clear that Sofia will support Macedonia's membership in the EU under the condition that anti-Bulgarian propaganda in neighboring Macedonia and misrepresentation of historical facts remain permanently in the past. But judging by the press releases of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, Skopje does not openly support the preparation of this contract.

According to a number of analysts, anti-Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia comes from Skopje government officials, once trained in Serbian political party centers. Most of the Macedonians do not hate Bulgaria. On the contrary, thousands have already applied to the authorities in Sofia for Bulgarian citizenship and their number continues to rise.

History in recent decades shows that Sofia has made a number of errors in relation to the Macedonian question. The most recent example is the recognition of the Macedonian state by President Zhelyu Zhelev, at the dawn of democracy after the fall of the totalitarian regime in Bulgaria in 1989. Today some historians assess this act as insufficiently thoughtful. The claim that recognising the state did not mean recognition of the nation and language was refuted by Skopje propaganda that makes no difference and says the act of recognition included nation, language, and history.

What would happen if Macedonia became member of the EU? One thing is certain - authorities in Skopje will not be able to discriminate those in Macedonia who publicly declare their Bulgarian identity. In practice, there will be no borders, and relationships between people will not be controlled and manipulated by propaganda in Skopje. This way, as some more emotional commentators say, we would find out that we are one people living in two countries.

English: Alexander Markov