Mickoski: Macedonian identity is not a product of Yugoslavia

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on Alsat’s “N’Dritë” program that he does not expect progress in resolving the dispute with Bulgaria. According to him, the core of the problem is linked to Macedonian identity, which the Bulgarian side rejects.

Mickoski said he could not agree with the claim that Macedonian identity was created by Yugoslavia. He stressed that the identity encompasses the country’s name, the Macedonian language, cultural heritage, history and the memory of ancestors who, he said, paid with their blood for what Macedonians enjoy today.

The Macedonian prime minister added that these elements are denied by someone who claims that the Macedonian language does not exist or that it is a branch of another language. He also rejected the thesis that the Macedonian language is the result of a decision by the Communist International and that the period before it belonged to another identity. “I am a proud Macedonian and proud of my identity and my ancestors,” Mickoski said.