Mucunski: Dialogue with Sofia has backing from EU institutions and member states
Mucunski says North Macedonia's positions are "clear and principled" and talks continue with EU support.
North Macedonia's foreign minister, Timcho Mucunski, said the dialogue with Bulgaria over outstanding bilateral issues currently has the backing of European Union institutions and member states. He made the remark during a joint press conference in Skopje with Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE Chair Ignazio Cassis, responding to a question about EU engagement in the talks.
Positions remain "clear and principled", says Mucunski
Asked specifically about relations with Sofia, Mucunski said: "Regarding the question with Bulgaria, I think we have said fairly clearly that at the moment we are working on a dialogue which, as you heard from representatives of the European Union, has the support of the European institutions and member states."
He reiterated that North Macedonia’s positions are "clear and principled" and that the discussions underway now — as well as talks over the past two years — are based on stances that have been communicated to European partners.
The minister's comments followed a statement by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos at a Brussels press conference on 4 November, when she said the Commission "is doing a lot for the relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, but we don't say everything" in reference to its efforts behind the scenes.
Mucunski did not provide a timetable for how long the dialogue with Sofia might last, nor did he say whether concrete deadlines are expected within the talks. He noted that no new meeting with Bulgaria’s foreign minister, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, is planned yet, but a meeting could take place on the margins of NATO or OSCE ministerial gatherings scheduled for December, or during a regional platform meeting North Macedonia will host the same month.
The last meeting between Mucunski and Petrova-Chamova took place on 8 October in Sofia at a ministerial event dedicated to Corridor 8; that encounter closed without any change in the two sides' positions. The European Commission has reiterated that, for unblocking accession negotiations and opening the first "Foundations" chapter, North Macedonia needs to adopt the constitutional amendments agreed in 2022 that would provide for recognition of minorities in the Constitution.
Photo: Arhiva
