Skopje, 15 August 2022 (MIA) – The medieval empires and states are completely different creations, with different identities and contexts from the modern states and nations. Which is why we are trying to avoid looking at events that happened 150 or more than a 1.000 years ago through a modern ethnic point of view, and we want to accentuate the universal values of the people at that time which connect the two nations as well as others, said the co-chairman of the Macedonian side of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission on Historical and Educational Issues with Bulgaria, Dragi Gjorgiev, on Monday. “Medieval identities and modern national identities should absolutely not be confused. The loyalties in the Middle Ages were towards the Tsar and the Church and there were no loyalties to the nation or the people. When it comes to this period, it is important to respect the universal values and to insist on other countries, besides Macedonia and Bulgaria, joining the common honoring of individuals from that era. Which is why the recommendations adopted on the joint honoring and for the textbooks in Macedonia and Bulgaria do not interfere with identity issues at all,” said Gjorgiev in a TV interview, adding that it is illogical to confuse modern identities with the identities of the people who lived here in ancient times. In the joint honoring texts, he added, there is no mention of ethnic groups and identities of individuals or communities, thus we have achieved what we strived to achieve – the Commission will not discuss identity issues. “Both countries are obligated to many things by the protocol, as well as the changes in textbooks. There must be reciprocity in the obligations. What Macedonia has taken as an obligation is 99 percent in alignment with what Bulgaria has to do regarding the textbooks and the joint honoring of events and individuals,” said Gjorgiev. ad/sk/