In a Christmas interview with Vecer, bishop Agatangel of Veles condemned the policies of the Government that undermine the Macedonian national identity and allow the rewriting of Macedonian history. According to bishop Agatangel, the policies of appeasement, including toward Bulgaria, have soured relations with the Bulgarian people as the Bulgarian Government sensed weakness in Macedonia and began to impose tougher and tougher demands.

Until the signing of the Friendship Treaty, the Macedonian and the Bulgarian people had excellent relations. The current state of relations with Bulgaria is a textbook example of politics undermining the situation. We saw how destructive the policies of several vain, incompetent and deaf people were. What the people had built on over decades was brought down by Boyko, Zoran and Bujar (the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Macedonia and the Foreign Minister of Macedonia), Agatangel told Vecer.

He added that it is unlikely to see the Bulgarian state climbing down from its current hardline positions toward Macedonia, with regard to the history and national identity of the Macedonians. “Their demands are unrealistic, shameless and violent. And it’s not their fault, what should we expect from them? The problem is in our office holders who have no sense for the spiritual health of the Macedonian people. In their servility they act as if they were opponents of their own people and not its defenders and servants. This people pays their salaries and gives them privileges, but they defend foreign interests”, Agatangel told Vecer.