Skopje, 7 January 2022 (MIA) – VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski said Friday he doesn’t expect improvement in the Macedonian-Bulgarian relations after Sofia has announced a fresh approach and called for “diplomatic action from the European partners” in order the country to be allowed to start negotiations with the EU for accession. “The Bulgarian Parliament resolution is behind the issue… Until the resolution is in effect, we will be subjected to blackmail by our eastern neighbor instead of building a future together. I regret that this is happening in 21^st-century Europe and I urge our European partners to react strongly and launch diplomatic action,” Mickoski said. “I expect that any solution about the identity of the Macedonian people will not be at the mercy of the illegitimate prime minister and the negotiator [Vlado] Buchkovski,” he said when asked to about his expectations from the visit of Skopje of Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov on January 18. Petkov will likely meet with PM-designate Dimitar Kovachevski. The PM-designate, the opposition leader told reporters, who will propose the new government has no credibility to negotiate on behalf of the Macedonian people about their identity. “I expect the voice of VMRO-DPMNE, the largest political party in the country, to be heard on the matter,” Mickoski said. Asked about his political expectations in the country in 2022, the opposition leader vowed that parliamentary elections have to be organized “to give voters the chance to elect a political government that the people want to have.” Mickoski spoke to members of the media after attending Christmas liturgy at the St. Clement of Ohrid Church in Skopje and wished the faithful merry Christmas.