In an interview with the Bulgarian “Dnevnik” daily, former Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski, who is Zoran Zaev’s personal envoy to Bulgaria, says that a possible deal between the two countries will need to include changes and alignment of school textbooks on history, geography and literature.
Buckovski also urges the Bulgarian Government to hurry up and use the fact that a person like Zoran Zaev and his SDSM party are still in power in Macedonia to cut a deal, considering that the opposition is likely not to sell out Macedonia’s national interests to the extent done by the SDSM. Bulgaria is likely to maintain its veto against Macedonia during the December 14th European Council, but the Zaev regime is hoping it will lift the veto in early 2022.
Since the 2017 agreement was signed, Zaev contributed a lot to finding solutions that will withstand the pressure in both the Bulgarian and the Macedonian public. We are under pressure from the opposition, which is expressing anxiety. And if VMRO-DPMNE is anxious and accuses us of treason, you should know that the things are moving and a deal is possible. VMRO-DPMNE accuses Zaev and says that whatever he signs now will not be valid for them in the future. I’m a moderate optimist, and I think that Bulgaria should not miss its historic opportunity. We are only determining a roadmap now, and we will likely negotiate about it in the next 6, 8, 10 years, Buckovski told “Dnevnik”.