Ivan Anchev: The government knows about the attacks, but is silent

Former deputy minister of the interior Ivan Anchev said that the government is clear about the origin of the attacks on vessels in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, but is not disclosing this information for political reasons. He made the comment in connection with the unannounced visit of the head of the cabinet of the President of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, to Sofia.

According to Anchev, he learned about the visit from a post by Tsvetan Tsvetanov on Facebook. The meeting between Budanov and Prime Minister Rumen Radev took place on October 8. The Council of Ministers announced that the visit was at the request of the Ukrainian representative and in complete confidentiality due to security measures.

„The state must have its secrets. But on such smaller topics, concealment creates conditions for distrust“, said Ivan Anchev.

He questioned the possibility that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the security services were not notified in advance of the visit.

„It is absurd that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not know. He can keep it a secret for protocol's sake, but if he doesn't know that the second most powerful and important person in a warring country is coming here, if the services and the Ministry of Defense don't know - let's shut down the country“, said Anchev.

Disagreement over the origin of the attacks

According to the former deputy minister, Budanov's visit should be viewed in the context of the attacks on the ships. He pointed out that the visit was two days after the strikes and stated that Moscow was behind them.

“They stubbornly don't want to say that the attack was Russian. I have no doubt“, said Anchev.

Prime Minister Rumen Radev, however, said that so far he has not seen evidence that would allow a definitive conclusion about the perpetrator. He also pointed out that during the inspection, the Bulgarian military did not find any remains of a drone that could shed light on the origin of the attack.

Anchev questioned the possibility that there were no traces of the weapon used on one of the attacked ships - the “Alpha Vatan“. He said that he was not proposing a specific version before the official conclusions of the investigators.

Warning of new strikes

In his comment, Anchev drew a parallel with the investigations of explosions in Bulgarian arms factories and warehouses, as well as with the attack on the Sarafovo airport. He warned that the assumptions about the presence of military personnel on the ship could be perceived as an indirect reproach to Turkey, which controls the passage through the straits according to the Montreux Convention.

“Nothing guarantees that there will not be new strikes tomorrow. We must prepare militarily. Bulgaria needs to do its homework“, said the former deputy minister.

When asked about national security, Anchev made a distinction between an immediate risk and a threat. According to him, there is no immediate risk, but a threat exists.

“Risk - no. Threat - yes. Drones and bombs will not start falling on our heads. At least not now“, said Ivan Anchev.

Sources: focus-news.net, bgonair.bg