Skopje puts pressure on Radev – if he gives way, gives up Russia
Brussels failed to reconcile Sofia and Skopje – Bulgaria will not give up the veto
Skopje, Rome and Western diplomacy are pushing for Rumen Radev to give the green light to EU talks. If the Bulgarian president succumbs to pressure, he will hand over Russia, which is adamantly against Northern Macedonia’s full membership in the European Union.
On Radev’s side and Russian policy are the so-called Bulgarian patriots from IMRO, NFSB and Ataka.
The extent to which there is a political mandate in Bulgaria to decide before the elections, where the Roadmap will be and what it would contain – this is a key factor in determining the outcome of the dispute with Bulgaria. This was said by RS Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, who is an ethnic Albanian.
Regarding the joint visit of President Stevo Pendarovski and Rumen Radev to Rome, he mentioned that this is an important step in building trust and normalizing communication between the two countries. According to him, there is symbolism in this meeting, but also essence, “because it was possible to talk openly about all issues and ways to overcome the blockade.”
Obviously, only the President of Bulgaria has a full political mandate, all other institutions have a technical mandate related to the organization of elections. However, I often say that the technical government is not a state election commission and can decide to start negotiations, but here President Radev is very important and that is why communication in Rome was very important and continues at all levels. “There was communication between prime ministers, we exchanged certain documents with the foreign minister, we expect a meeting of prime ministers and ministers in the coming days, and eventually a dynamic will be agreed to use those 20 days to find a solution,” Osmani said.
A change in Bulgaria’s position on the start of Northern Macedonia’s EU membership talks cannot be expected. This was stated by Prime Minister Stefan Yanev and Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev after meetings with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhei and Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, who were in Sofia in an attempt to mediate in resolving the dispute with Skopje.
A similar position was expressed by President Rumen Radev, who pointed out that EU enlargement must be based on achieving sustainable results in building good neighborly relations in the Balkans.
“That is why we want to see not declarations, but clear guarantees for our national security and for our national interests,” Radev was quoted as saying in a press release from the presidency.