Skopje, 27 December 2021 (MIA) – There’s no need to hold early election, but the country must resolve issues, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said during an end-of-year meeting with reporters on Monday. In regard to the dispute with Bulgaria, Ahmeti said that if we want a stable and sustainable situation and focus on Euro-Atlantic processes, it’s crucial to resolve issues over the Friendship Treaty. “The gap is being bridged. We had in mind the difficulties Bulgaria was facing with the elections and the formation of the new government and Parliament. International partners interested in ensuring peace, stability and security in the Western Balkans and especially in North Macedonia, have been helping us overcome differences. I hope that the dispute will be resolved in coming days of months, if both sides manage not to politicize the process and not attach emotions to an already sensitive issue,” Ahmeti said. He underlined that Bulgaria has insisted that the Bulgarian minority be included in the Macedonian Constitution. “We accepted and made this change,” Ahmeti added. Regarding language, he stressed that the issue can be resolved through constructive dialogue, noting that the solution formulated in the Friendship Treaty is acceptable. Moreover, the DUI leader underlined that Albanians express solidarity to Macedonians over resolving the dispute and overcoming differences, guided by shared interests. “No negotiations are easy. All processes involve differences between the two sides, but constructive dialogue and good will is crucial and inspires confidence that a solution can be reached. Albanians are defending the interests of Macedonians as much as they do this themselves because we have a joint goal, a vision for a stable country, a progressive and functional democracy, fully integrated in EU and NATO,” Ahmeti said. In regard to the launch of the vetting process, he noted concrete actions should be taken to ensure that honest people are placed in top positions in politics, courts, police, etc. “Words should be transformed into actions. Success requires coordination and harmonization. Advanced countries like the US and those in Europe have unlike us jailed thousands of top officials,” Ahmeti highlighted. Regarding the country’s European perspectives, Ahmeti said that there are destructive forces working against EU accession, stressing that these same forces were opposed to the Ohrid and Prespa Agreements and the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria, assisted by foreign factors, such as Russian and Chinese influence.