January 8 (BTA) - Prime Minister Kiril Petkov will visit Skopje on January 18, the government's information service said on Saturday. The visit is on the occasion of the 30th anniversary since the recognition by Bulgaria of the independence of the Republic of North Macedonia, as is the name of the country now.

In Skopje Petkov will be accompanied by the ministers of foreign affairs, and of transport: Teodora Genchovska and Nikolay Sabev.

The press release says that the visit will mark a new beginning in the development of the bilateral relations and will map out the next steps which the two governments will undertake to resolve the outstanding questions between the two neighbours.

Petkov is quoted as saying that "we need to change the understanding of what it means to have the Republic of North Macedonia negotiating with the EU and of being part of the EU in the future; we should speak about all benefits that Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia stand to gain from this process".

Sofia has consistently blocked the start of Republic of North Macedonia's EU accession talks, insisting that Skopje should first meet the conditions in its Goodneighbourliness Treaty with Bulgaria, which include abandoning hate speech against Bulgaria, the distortion of historical facts in textbooks and elsewhere and the discrimination against its citizens who identify themselves as Bulgarians.