Macedonia should not be afraid to negotiate with Greece, FM Dimitrov says

The request of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) for the Bulgarian Church (BOC) to become its ‘mother’ Church and how it may affect the regional cooperation, good-neighborly relations and Macedonia’s position is a matter for the church authorities and their efforts for MOC’s autocephaly status, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov says in an interview with the Radio Free Europe.

Dimitrov says he is not engaged in this matter, notifying that the state is separated from the church.

Referring to the name issue with Greece, Dimitrov points out that Macedonia should not be afraid of the negotiations and will enter the talks on the matter with good fate in an attempt to iron the differences.

‘We will not negotiate out of fear, and we can’t come to a solution that will fail to cover our main concerns. We must find a way for both sides to believe that they succeeded to protect their most precious interests,’ Dimitrov says.