“This is why Bulgaria was the first country in the world to recognize the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name but even until today, it does not recognize the existence of the Macedonian nation and minority on its territory,” concludes Spiridon Sfetas. “When we read those valuable documents, we can understand that today, Greece is facing the same problems with the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia as the Bulgarian communist government was 50 years ago.” This was the conclusion of Nikolaos Merzos – president of the board of directors of the Institute for Macedonian Research in Thessaloniki.

He reminded that Bulgaria and Greece have been fighting each other for centuries about Macedonia, they have spilled a lot of blood, there were battles and arguments and none of the countries is a saint. “When it comes to Macedonia, we can rarely agree on a solution. But the fact that historians from the Bulgarian National Archives and researchers from the Institute for Macedonian Research in Thessaloniki sat down together to study their histories, is an exceptionally positive example. This is a message to all Balkan nations for an honest and open dialogue in the name of a better future for all of us,” stressed Nikolaos Merzos. The Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyanni also spoke about the importance of the publication as an example that Bulgaria and Greece have left behind the concepts and problems from the past and will cooperate in any field as partners in the European Union and NATO.

On the presentation of the book, again she outlined the Greek standpoint regarding the negotiations about the name of Macedonia. Those negotiations have been going on for 15 years under the aegis of the UN and with the mediation of Mathew Nimitz and the main Greek position are that the Macedonian name should be made out of a geographical definition, without any territorial claims and without a claim for a Macedonian minority in Greece. “this book is a result of the first cooperation between the Bulgarian National Archives and Greece. The topic is extremely important and current for the Greek researchers,” said Boryana Boujashka – director of the “Archives” agency. She announced that she has allowed the Greek historians to study the Bulgarian secret archives in relation to the Macedonian problem in the period from 1967 until the collapse of the Yugoslavian Federation.

Upcoming is the presentation of the book “The Macedonian problem and Bulgaria” in Bulgarian.