Macedonia PM Apologises for Offending Bulgarians

Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev apologised in a Facebook post on Friday about his controversial remark about the 1903 Ilinden rebellion that caused uproar among Bulgarian politicians on all sides.

"Sometimes we, politicians, are not careful enough, sometimes we make mistakes. But I assure you that this is only an act of carelessness, because we sincerely want your cooperation and friendship," Zaev said in the apology to Bulgarians.

His comment about the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903, which is celebrated in both countries on August 2, had caused an angry reaction from Bulgarian public figures.

In an interview with Macedonian 1TV on August 4, Zaev said that "the Ilinden uprising is Macedonian".

"If any citizen of Bulgaria wants to celebrate it, let them celebrate it," he added.

The first criticism came from Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP leader Kornelia Ninova.

"Personal friendship with Mr Zaev, the common ideas and the joint efforts of the BSP and [Zaev's] SDSM [party], and the shared future of the two countries in the EU and NATO are very important and we care about these, but there is a single historic truth and it can't be ignored or twisted," Ninova wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Ninova also criticised Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov for not speaking out against Zaev's remarks.

Defence Minister and leader of the Bulgarian VMRO party Krasimir Karakachanov condemned the comment in an interview with Pik.bg on the same day.

"If Zaev really believes what he says, I recommend he read some history," Karakachanov was quoted as saying.

"The clearest option was for him to speak the truth - that the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising was a common effort for the two countries," he added, calling for the...