Rumen Radev and Iliana Yotova are avoiding the topic of Russia so as not to sway some of their voters before the presidential elections. This was stated by the MP from “Democratic Bulgaria“ and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Atanas Atanasov to bTV.
“The rulers – the Yotova-Radev tandem, are running away from this topic like the devil in view of the upcoming presidential elections, since a tangible solid part of their electoral corpus are Russophiles“, said Atanasov. According to him, the two should be careful not to upset this vote with the version that Russia could be behind the strikes.
His comment was made after the meeting of the National Security Advisory Council, convened by President Iliana Yotova due to the drone attacks on two merchant ships in the Black Sea. The incidents occurred in the area of Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.
The National Security Advisory Council did not name a perpetrator
The council did not identify Russia as the perpetrator of the strikes. The common position was supported by „Progressive Bulgaria“ and GERB, while representatives of „Continuing Change“, „Democratic Bulgaria“, DPS and „Vazrazhdane“ did not support it.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev said that at the moment there is not enough evidence to make a definitive conclusion. “If we judge by the nature of the cargo and the direction of movement of the ships, then the result, logically speaking, is in favor of Russia. But this does not mean that we can claim that the strike was carried out by Russia without having evidence“, he said.
Radev pointed out that the origin of the drones used must be established through specific data, not through assumptions. The checks on the case continue, including with an expected examination of debris from the sunken ship.
Discrepancy between the opposition and the government
Atanasov said that in his opinion there is enough indirect data to consider the version of Russian responsibility. He accused the ruling party of limiting the discussion of the topic within the closed session of the National Security Council, instead of having it debated publicly in parliament.
After the session, Yotova stated that Russia's war against Ukraine has led to a significant deterioration in security in the Black Sea region. The adopted position envisages Bulgaria requesting additional security measures from the European Union, NATO and the UN, as well as holding consultations with Romania and Turkey.
At the moment, there is no official conclusion indicating who the perpetrator of the attacks is. The dispute between the ruling party and the opposition remains related to both the assessment of the incidents and the political consequences of publicly naming Russia.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg, mediapool.bg, news.bg