The US is expected to be very active in the negotiations on the exact way of implementing the agreement between Skopje and Sofia, after Bulgaria has a more stable government, reports the Macedonian edition of The Voice of America, quoted from Focus.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, at a hearing on the future of Europe before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that North Macedonia suffers from disagreements with its neighbors. This is one of the problems of joining the EU and affects the constantly changing conditions.
He was asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, what more the U.S. could do to encourage Europeans to keep their promises to Western Balkan countries that have made the necessary reforms without changing the rules or conditions of their accession to the EU, as is the case with North Macedonia.
"The main issue is the agreement that North Macedonia has with Bulgaria, and as soon as Bulgaria has a more stable government, we will have to talk about the exact way to implement it. So that's going to be an area that I expect us to be very active in,' O'Brien replied.
The publication notes that Bulgaria does not intend to set new conditions on the path of the RSM to the EU, but will not allow a deviation from the agreements reached, the first of which is the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the Macedonian constitution.
Prime Minister Hristiyan Mitkoski stated that he will not negotiate with dictates and ultimatums and that Bulgaria must respect the rights of the "Macedonian community", for the violation of which there are 14 verdicts from the International Court of Human Rights.
The US is working to preserve the agreement with Greece, O'Brien also noted.
"Part of our diplomatic work is to pave the way to preserve the agreement we have with Greece, and I think your meeting and others have helped Greece become a friend on the way forward for North Macedonia, not a critic. The same with Albania”.
Mickoski and RSM president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said they would use the country's constitutional name in an official context, but that they would use the name Macedonia in statements and as an act of personal right to self-determination and self-identification.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during the NATO summit in Washington earlier this month, said that one of the most important aspects of the Prespa Agreement was to use the name North Macedonia erga omnes, meaning within and outside the country.
In his words, at this moment Greece "will not reveal the weapons at its disposal to respond to the tactics of the leadership of the neighboring country".
American Ambassador in Skopje Angela Ageler stated that the agreements with Greece and Bulgaria will not be renegotiated.
"These agreements have been made. No renegotiation of Prespa, no renegotiation of progress towards the EU. This is very clear," she said in an interview with Radio Free Europe last month.