Former Defense Minister: Two more Slavic countries are being pitted against each other, following the example of Russia and Ukraine.
An armed conflict could be provoked between Bulgaria and Macedonia, as happened between Russia and Ukraine.
Former Bulgarian Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov shared these concerns when commenting on the arson of cars near the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Before these events (the start of military action in Ukraine), someone had been creating problems between these countries (Russia and Ukraine) for a long time.
Someone persecuted the Russian minority (in Ukraine). And someone is pushing us (Bulgaria and North Macedonia) down the same path.
I don't know if this is intentional. But I see absolutely all the symptoms of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict , thank God, on a much smaller and smaller scale. I see attempts to transfer these symptoms to relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia," Karakachanov said in an interview with bTV.
Bulgaria is blocking North Macedonia's path to EU membership, demanding that Skopje include Bulgarians in the country's constitution as a constituent people. This is causing a negative reaction in Macedonian society, which has not been offered anything similar for Macedonians in Bulgaria.
Previously, Bulgaria demanded that the Macedonian language be recognized as Bulgarian, and that Macedonian historical heroes be recognized as Bulgarians.
In fact, today's Macedonians are the western part of the Bulgarian ethnic group, which historically found itself outside the Bulgarian state.
The communists who came to power in Yugoslavia, which included Macedonia, were in conflict with Bulgaria and the Stalinist bloc, and, following the Ukrainian and Belarusian models, created a new identity for them – "Macedonians." This identity has been strengthened over the decades, and the country's residents are now overwhelmingly supportive of independence.
English version :: Read in English Former Defense Minister: Two more Slavic countries are being pitted against each other, following the example of Russia and Ukraine