• Wednesday, 03 July 2024

North Macedonia’s remarks on historical issues and protocol contained in new proposal: PM

North Macedonia’s remarks on historical issues and protocol contained in new proposal: PM
Skopje, 30 June 2022 (MIA) – North Macedonia’s remarks that the historical issues and the protocol arising from the Friendship Treaty cannot be part of the negotiating framework have been incorporated in the new French proposal on the Bulgaria dispute that the Government received on Thursday, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said on Thursday. “Our remarks are part of the new proposal that is currently analyzed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We can launch the consultation process in the country. The document includes our demand that historical issues cannot be part of the negotiating framework. On the protocol, which is the second one arising from the Bulgaria Friendship Treaty, it will also not be part of the negotiating framework,” PM Kovachevski told a press conference. He said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj would present details of the documents to the media on Friday. The PM said the proposal would be delivered to the Parliament and treated in line with the institution’s procedures. “With regards to the incorporation of other citizens that declare themselves in a different way than the ones already included in the Constitution, it is not only the Bulgarians, but also the Croats and the Montenegrins. All political stakeholders in the country have already said they will support this process,” noted Kovachevski. On the consensual acceptance of the proposal, he said it required the broadest possible consensus, since the move would be a step towards holding the first EU intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia. “The first IGC always marks the start of the screening process but the details on the subsequent stages will be elaborated by Deputy PM Marichikj tomorrow,” underlined Kovachevski.