Ali Ahmeti, leader of the biggest Albanian party DUI, called on North Macedonia to accept the demands put forward by Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, starting with including the Bulgarian nation to the Preamble of the Constitution. Ahmeti, whose power over his coalition with SDSM keeps growing, made the statement after meeting Petkov.
“Nothing bad will happen to the country if we accept the Bulgarian minority as a constitutional category. It is important that we open the EU accession talks. That is how we build a secure future”, Ahmeti said, adding that other nations, such as the Croats and the Montenegrins, can be added as well.
Nikola Gruevski, former prime minister from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, who is hiding from North Macedonian justice in Hungary under the protection of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, also reacted to the Bulgarian PM’s visit.
“How come Bulgaria wants North Macedonia to amend its Constitution to list the Macedonian citizens of a Bulgarian identity in it, but at the same time, the issue of the Macedonians in Bulgaria should not be discussed? Is this the right of the mightier party on display”, Gruevski asked in a Facebook comment.
He warns that Petkov’s comment exposes ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria to hatred and recriminations and makes them especially vulnerable.
