The negotiating framework with North Macedonia must include guarantees that the 2017 Treaty with Bulgaria will be implemented, said in an interview with BGNES, Bulgarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Marin Raykov. This also applies to the representation of the common history of the two countries in textbooks and to the renunciation of the old claims to Bulgaria from Yugoslav times, Raykov stated. 

"No one can dispute the right of some of today's citizens of North Macedonia to self-identify as Macedonians, but it is not acceptable to challenge the self-identification of their ancestors as Bulgarians. A government that fears the historical memory of its citizens and tries to replace it has not reached the necessary level of democracy to start negotiations with the EU. "Corridor 8" is not only a transport project, but also a geopolitical message," said the diplomat, who is also a former caretaker prime minister of Bulgaria.