Skopje, 19 May 2023 (MIA) - United States Ambassador Angela Aggeler says there is a lot of history between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, but also those who would be very happy to create additional chaos, those who benefit politically from trying to create narratives about the Macedonian language, the Macedonian identity.

Ambassador Aggeler says in an interview with MIA there has been a very aggressive and not fact-based language from Sofia and others about the situation in North Macedonia.

"I think that those who continue with that narrative, yes it is absolutely true that from Sofia and from others we’ve heard very aggressive language that has indicated, frankly that is not fact-based about the situation here in North Macedonia and again I am very lucky to be the U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia and to be here in Skopje and I’m not in Sofia, but the important thing, and I truly believe this, that the leaders and citizens, not those that are the loudest voices right now but the people of this country recognize and the people of Bulgaria, that, again, the benefits of having a neighbor a very close neighbor that’s also in the European Union, with whom you can enhance your trade, with whom you can work together on security issues, on regional integration and all of these sorts of activities, that’s in the best benefit of this country, and in my view, it’s also in the best interest of Bulgaria and the other neighbors in Western Balkans," says Aggeler.

On the Bulgarian veto, the hate speech, relations between the two societies, and whether the problem is geopolitical or one of historical ambiguities, the Ambassador says she and the new U.S. Ambassador in Sofia, Kenneth Merten, have had a number of conversations about "how we can work together to inform those with whom we communicate about the different issues and challenges."

"The bottom line is that this was an agreement made last summer, in terms of changing the Constitution and it is the next step to move towards EU accession. So those who would take advantage of the points of tension between the two countries are harming both countries in my view, because Bulgaria will benefit as much as North Macedonia from North Macedonia’s accession into the European Union. It will help them in terms of security, it terms of their economy, and in terms of broader regional opportunities and integration," says Ambassador Aggeler in the interview.

Photo: MIA