The issue remains open until next week, when the Commission will meet again online

The 11th meeting of the Joint Expert Commission on Historical Issues between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, established in implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation between the two countries, has ended without results, BNR reports.

The two co-chairs of the commission, Prof. Angel Dimitrov and Prof. Dragi Georgiev, expressed the key differences between historians from Sofia and Skopje, which became the main reason for Bulgaria to block the start of North Macedonia's EU membership talks. 

"Blocking the signing of the minutes of the last two meetings calls into question our work", said Prof. Dimitrov.

"Without a document that clearly reflects what discussions were held and what decisions were made, things become uncertain and show reluctance to work more efficiently", he added. 

For his part, Prof. Dragi Georgiev described the discussion as multi-layered, but also fruitless. The issue remains open until next week, when the Commission will meet again online.