Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev has said that the ongoing political crisis in Bulgaria can be resolved "if everyone takes a step back."

"Since we have people in the streets, we have problems we need to solve. Absolutely all of us need to take steps back. If everybody keeps acting the way they have so far, then the results will be the same," Yovchev said in an interview for 24 Hours Daily.

Commenting on the ongoing anti-government protests, Bulgaria's Interior Minister admitted that the government had neglected the first signs of the crisis and had failed to take steps on time.

"Then we entered a stage of acute crisis. This was during the protests in the beginning of the year. Now we are in a state of chronic crisis, which is becoming permanent," he stated.

"If the crisis is not resolved, it does not matter whether the number of people will grow or decrease, an escalation of tension and a radicalization of protesters will be quite likely," he claimed.

"What worries me is that certain circles will resort to actions which can incite violence. We must not allow that. If we allow incitement to violence, it means that we will bring about an even greater division of society. Not to mention that people may get injured," Yovchev commented.

He suggested that there was no problem if there were certain groups of people who set the protest in motion.

"Each protest can have organizers and they have the right to direct the protest in whatever direction they see fit. The problem is that there are people who want to manipulate the protesters so as to cause tension to build up and provoke violence," he said.

Yovchev refused to disclose details about the matter in advance, saying that when the police had sufficient data about a crime, the information would be submitted to the prosecuting authority.

He went on to say that the administrative staff of the Interior Ministry would be reduced, which would be discussed at meetings with trade union representatives.

Regarding the appointment of a new Chair of the State Agency for National Security (DANS) after the scandal with Delyan Peevski, he said that there would be a hearing on Tuesday, adding that the candidates were "professionals with plenty of experience at senior positions within DANS."

Tuesday is the 33rd day of protests in Bulgaria.

The series of protests was triggered by the appointment of media mogul Delyan Peevski as DANS Chair.

Although the appointment was revoked, the protesters went on to demand the resignation of the socialist-led cabinet over its ties with oligarchs, as well as Election Code amendments aimed at guaranteeing better representation of the people in Parliament.

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