Bulgaria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry accused Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova on Monday of spreading disinformation when she said that sending Bulgarian soldiers to Ukraine would negatively impact the dialogue between Moscow and Sofia.
In her address on Russia Day, she stated: “Regardless of the fact that the views of Bulgarian citizens on the current agenda are far from uniform, official Sofia confidently adheres to the anti-Russian narrative. Systematic involvement of the country in the conflict in Ukraine – be it by supplying the Kyiv regime with ammunition or, for example, by possibly sending a national contingent to the war zone, will undoubtedly have negative consequences for the bilateral dialogue.”
The Bulgarian Ministry responded to her statement, saying: “Bulgaria strongly condemns the unprecedented and unprovoked military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and contributes to international efforts to support the country.”
The statement adds that they will continue their solidarity with Ukraine and unconditional support for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
“Any attempts at propaganda and disinformation that compromise democratic values are unacceptable and inadmissible. Bulgaria participates in several national and international initiatives to combat disinformation with a clear understanding of the fundamental role of our democratic society in our shared efforts to prevent intimations and speculation,” the position states.
The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly officially disproved rumours about sending a Bulgarian military contingent, specifying that no one asked for it.
Mitrofanova welcomed Bulgarian socialists and leaders of the pro-Russian nationalists’ party “Vazrazhdane” at a reception at the Russian Embassy in Sofia, organised on Russia Day (12 June). In front of them, she condemned the Bulgarian authorities for “confidently sticking to the anti-Russian narrative” and “dragging the country into the conflict in Ukraine.”
In April, the Foreign Affairs Ministry defined as inappropriate the statement of the Russian ambassador that if she could, she would vote for the leader of “Vazrazhdane” Kostadin Kostadinov.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said, “the statement made by Ambassador Mitrofanova on an internal political topic for Bulgaria is inappropriate.” The government has also cautioned that her words could violate the Vienna Agreement, laying down protocol for diplomatic relations.
Mitrofanova’s presence in Bulgaria has so far been marked by a series of scandals, as on the Bulgarian national holiday of 3 March this year, she compared the Liberation of Bulgaria from the troops of the Russian Empire to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many ethnic Ukrainians, Poles, Finns and Bulgarians participated in the battles for the liberation of Bulgaria.
In June 2022, the Russian embassy in Sofia announced the start of a donation operation supporting the Russian army that invaded Ukraine. On the Facebook page of the diplomatic mission, an appeal was published to send money for “assistance to the military, participating in the special operation to protect the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.”
On 30 March, the influential Bulgarian think tank Centre for the Study of Democracy announced that the Russian embassy in Bulgaria has the most significant influence on society compared to all other foreign diplomatic missions in the Balkan countries. The conference was organised with the media partnership of EURACTIV Bulgaria.
(Antonia Kotseva | EURACTIV.bg)
Read more with EURACTIV
Poles less willing to help Ukrainian refugees: poll
Source: euractiv.com
