Skopje, 12 November 2025 (MIA) - Commenting on the work of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission of Experts in Historical and Educational Issues with Bulgaria, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade stressed Wednesday that politics has no right to interfere in academic freedom, noting that the task of the Commission’s members is to debate and adopt conclusions based on scientific methods.

“One thing I said at the very beginning of our term is that politics has no right to interfere in academic freedom. The task of the members of that Commission is to discuss, debate, and if they succeed, adopt certain conclusions based on their scientific knowledge. With Prime Minister [Hristijan] Mickoski at the helm and me as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, politics has moved its hands away from the Commission,” Mucunski said when asked by journalists to comment on a recent statement by the Bulgarian co-chair of the Commission, Angel Dimitrov, who said the Commission’s work is stagnating.

Mucunski stressed the government has not exerted pressure nor is influencing the work of the body, which, he said, “unfortunately happened in the past, and there are testimonies by members of the Commission at the time”.

“If I were to comment on Mr. Dimitrov’s statement – and believe me as a human being I do have a personal opinion – then I would probably accomplish the goal he desires, for the process to be politicized. The only thing I can say, and I often repeat this also as someone who comes from an academic environment, is for the members to do their job as researchers within that Commission,” Mucunski added.

The Minister noted the two sides have different interpretations of certain issues, but, stressed the government is leaving the academic workers to independently debate and adopt conclusions.

“We mustn’t exert any kind of pressure, neither by interpreting facts nor by setting any timeframes. They have the freedom to work in a way they think is best,” Mucunski said.