site.btaAssociation of the Descendants of Refugees and Migrants from the Territory of the Republic of North Macedonia and friends: Exposition Addressed to Lord Robertson

To Lord Robertson

Dear Lord Robertson,

From reports in the media in North Macedonia, we have learned that you have suggested that the United Kingdom should mediate in the dispute between Skopje and Sofia in order to prevent North Macedonia from drifting away from its European path and moving into the Serbian–Russian orbit. Your words were quoted as follows:

“Britain should offer to mediate in the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria in order to prevent further regression of Skopje and the tendency to move into the Russian–Serbian orbit. This can be done through mediation. The way out of the deadlock between the two sides should be sought on the basis of the content of their existing 2017 Agreement.”

We welcome any initiative that could help North Macedonia carry out genuine reforms and come closer to European values. We understand the United Kingdom’s aspiration to remain an active participant in Europe’s security and stability policy, despite its withdrawal from the European Union. Precisely for this reason, your initiative deserves attention, as it shows that London continues to take an interest in the developments in the Western Balkans and their European future.

As we follow closely the challenges faced by Skopje on its path to EU integration, we would like to draw your attention to several important facts:

1. In 2022, Bulgaria lifted its veto on the start of North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations. Subsequently, the European Union unanimously adopted a negotiation framework which requires constitutional amendments — the inclusion of Bulgarians among the officially recognized communities — and the implementation of the treaties of friendship with Greece and Bulgaria. Since that moment, North Macedonia no longer has a bilateral dispute with Bulgaria, but rather commitments undertaken before the entire European Union.
2. Human rights are universal and their protection cannot be viewed as a bilateral issue. The Bulgarian state, being closest to the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia, supported its request to be included in the Constitution, as are the other recognized communities. Such an act would ensure equality and protection for these citizens.
   The archives of the British Foreign Office contain abundant evidence of the existence of Bulgarians in Macedonia. Their assimilation began after 1913, when Serbia occupied the present-day territory of North Macedonia. The main pressure was aimed at Serbianization, but a parallel plan was also pursued — to detach the Bulgarians through the creation of a transitional Macedonian identity. After 1944, this reserve plan became the main state doctrine.
   Today, neither Bulgaria nor the European Union denies the right of existence of the contemporary North Macedonian identity or of the language referred to as Macedonian. At the same time, Bulgaria — and later the European Union — supports those citizens of North Macedonia who, despite pressure and repression, continue to preserve their Bulgarian identity and to call their mother tongue Bulgarian.
3. Regarding the concerns that North Macedonia may move into the Serbian–Russian orbit, we would like to emphasize that it has, in fact, never left it. Its current state ideology was established in Belgrade and Moscow. For this reason, the efforts of the authorities in Skopje to join the EU without profound internal reforms aim not at genuine integration, but at introducing a Serbian–Russian “Trojan horse” into the European Union — similar to already observed issues within NATO. We are confident that you could request information about the cases of classified data leaks to Serbia, which have led to the denial of security clearances for a number of officials.

On this basis, we draw the main conclusion that North Macedonia cannot “turn further” towards Belgrade, because it has, in fact, never left its orbit.

Therefore, we believe that the main task before the international community is to assist North Macedonia in freeing itself from its dependence on Serbia and Russia and in taking a genuine European path. The country clearly cannot achieve this on its own and needs external support in order to carry out the necessary reforms and break with the practices inherited from its totalitarian past.

Respectfully,

Co-Chairs: Prof. Trendafil Mitev, Assoc. Prof. Spas Tashev, Iliya Stoyanovski
Secretary: Dimitar M. Dimitrov

Sofia, 23 October 2025