Macedonia's parliament on Monday ratified a landmark friendship pact with Balkan neighbor Bulgaria designed to dampen a historic rivalry in a region beset by old ethnic and territorial disputes. The deal also calls for a committee to "objectively" re-examine common history, which could lead to a review of school textbooks. VMRO-DPMNE opposed the ratification, saying the pact contains "serious faults" and fails to recognize the existence of a Macedonian ethnic minority in Bulgaria. A party statement also complained that the potential school textbook review "is beyond common sense and the principles of science." Bulgaria has already ratified the pact.

Source: ABC News January 15, 2018 14:37 UTC