A decision to grant permission to use a building, at the request of the Russian Federation, will be made in accordance with the established procedures for coordination between the competent Bulgarian institutions and in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. This was told to BTA by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in response to a query whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received a request from Russia to open a Consulate General in Varna.
Earlier today, the "Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria" party said that they had received information according to which the Russian Federation, through a diplomatic note sent by its embassy in Sofia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had requested permission - under the formal pretext of a "reciprocity procedure" - to open a Consulate General in Varna. The plan is to locate it in a business building at the intersection of "Dunav" and "Kozloduy" streets, just 200 meters from the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy, the party said.
The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Varna has not been closed, in this regard, there is no procedure underway to open it, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained. At the moment, the Consulate General of Russia in Varna does not have a building to carry out its activities. The Bulgarian side has not made a decision on granting permission regarding the type and exact location of the consular representation that could be used by Russia to carry out this type of diplomatic activity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated.
At the end of February, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said that no consent had been requested from Bulgarian institutions for the resumption of the activities of the Russian consulate in Varna. In March, Georgiev announced that the Russian Federation has 22 diplomatic and 22 administrative-technical employees in Bulgaria.