Macedonia can prosper if it has good relations with all neighbors and brotherly relations with Bulgaria.
The Serbian interest is for us to be hostile to each other.
This was stated in an interview for BGNES by Lupcho Kurtelov, public figure and chairman of the association "Horizonti" in the city of Ohrid, Republic of North Macedonia. "During the period when Lyubcho Georgievski was in power in Macedonia, it can be said that we had the best relations with Bulgaria. Unfortunately, when Nikola Gruevski took over VMRO-DPMNE, our relations went very downhill. His mantra was declaratively that Macedonia should go to Europe, but in fact he was doing the exact opposite - to hinder this process as much as possible, probably under the influence of foreign interests," said Kurtelov and pointed out that today Gruevski's successors are again came to power.
"In the election campaign, the atmosphere was very tense. We know that relations with Bulgaria have not been good for several years, but Macedonia must move towards Europe, this is the way. "Bulgaria is the best guide and mentor that should lead us on this path, because it has the best intentions towards Macedonia," the public official emphasized.
When asked by BGNES what are the foreign interests in Macedonia that do not want good relations with Bulgaria, Kurtelov said:
"To answer this question, we need to know a little history, at least from the beginning of the 19th century, when the majority of the population in Macedonia felt Bulgarian. Our great-grandfathers felt Bulgarian.
Due to the historical events that took place, we distanced ourselves, unfortunately. The Serbs are the ones who create obstacles between Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is in the Serbian interest that relations between us be hostile."
The chairman of "Horizonti" stated that the influence of Serbia in politics, media and business is very strong.
"The question is what is the political orientation of the Macedonian politicians. Don't they play to the music of "Užičko Kolo", that is, Serbian music. "Many of them are under the influence of Serbian politics, it's a whole conglomerate," he pointed out.
Lyupcho Kurtelov told about an illustrative case from 2020.
"During the coronavirus pandemic, Vucic came to the border and brought several thousand vaccines. The Macedonian media made a sensation out of this incident. Then a viewer called into the morning block and announced: "Vucic is the second lord!". This creates the psychosis that the Serbs are our saviors, which is false to say the least," he explained.
"If we want Macedonia to prosper, regardless of our political and national orientation, we must have good relations with all neighbors and fraternal relations with Bulgaria - the country that thinks well of us," Kurtelov said in conclusion. /BGNES
