Angel Dimitrov, head of the Bulgarian side in the joint committee of historians, attended the funeral of Vanco Mihajlov. A picture of the funeral, held in 1990, clearly shows Dimitrov among the mourners.

Mihajlov was VMRO leader between the wars and is controversial for siding with the Nazis in Croatia, and for denying the Macedonian national identity in favor of the Bulgarian, even as he supported an independent and unified Macedonian state. He lived in Rome after the war, and died at an advanced old age.

The decision of a Bulgarian organization in Bitola to open a club and name it after Mihajlov caused a lot of controversy and soured further the relations between the two countries.

Angel Dimitrov was Bulgarian Ambassador to Macedonia, as is now a very hard-line voice in the dispute between the two countries. Macedonian historian Vanco Gjorgjiev shared the photograph with the “Nova Makedonija” newspaper, showing that his ties with Mihajlov were deep and personal.