The leader of the Bulgarian political party “Revival,” Kostadin Kostadinov, sparked controversy with a post on his Facebook profile, where he expressed support for the vision of uniting Bulgaria and Macedonia into a single state, modeled after the United States and Canada, an idea promoted by the newly elected U.S. President, Donald Trump.
Kostadinov wrote that there is nothing “more logical and normal than for two countries with shared history, origin, language, and people, like the U.S. and Canada, to become one state.” In the same context, he also supported Trump’s claims for reclaiming control over the Panama Canal, stating that the U.S. was the original owner of the area, built it, and controlled it until 1979.
In his post, Kostadinov directly linked this stance to the Balkans. He compared this thesis to Bulgaria’s “claims” over the areas of Southern Bessarabia, which he asserts were part of the Bulgarian state for over 450 years and where, according to him, Bulgarians remain the majority.
“Ukraine has controlled Southern Bessarabia for just 34 years,” wrote Kostadinov, adding that “the breakup of Ukraine is inevitable and that at a future ‘peace congress’ to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, Bulgaria should submit its claims over this region.”
This stance by Kostadinov comes at a time of sensitive regional relations. Macedonia and Bulgaria have had complicated relations in recent years regarding history, identity, and language, which has also led to Bulgaria blocking Macedonia’s accession process to the European Union.
