The government owes the public information about the visits of high-ranking foreign representatives, although some of the conversations should remain confidential. This was stated by former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Anchev in the program "Denyat ON AIR" on the occasion of the unannounced visit of the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine Kirill Budanov to Bulgaria.
According to him, concealing such meetings creates prerequisites for distrust.
"It was undoubtedly a surprise for everyone who is interested in politics. For me too. "I learned from Tsvetan Tsvetanov's Facebook profile," Anchev commented on Bulgaria ON AIR.
He emphasized that it is not necessary for all details of diplomatic talks to become public.
"The state must have its secrets. But on such smaller topics, concealment creates prerequisites for distrust," he explained.
Anchev was particularly harsh on 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 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to know. It may keep a secret for the sake of protocol, but if it does not know that the second most powerful and important person in a warring state is coming here, if the services and the Ministry of Defense do not know - let's shut down the state. I say this with pain," admitted the former deputy minister. According to him, Budanov's visit should also be considered in the context of the attacks on vessels in Bulgaria's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Black Sea.
"It's not a coincidence, it doesn't happen out of nowhere", said Anchev, noting that the visit took place two days after the attacks. He criticized Prime Minister Rumen Radev for his position on the origin of the attacks and expressed his belief that Russia was behind them.
"They stubbornly don't want to say that the attack was Russian. I have no doubt", the guest pointed out.
The former deputy minister believes that Bulgaria should draw the necessary conclusions about the threats to national security, instead of focusing solely on the search for physical evidence. Anchev expressed confidence that Bulgarian institutions have the capabilities to establish the origin of the attacks thanks to the country's membership in NATO.
"It is not difficult to establish. We are part of NATO. We do not rely only on coastal radars, and within the Alliance there are various ways to establish who is where at a given time and region," he commented.
According to him, the reason for not disclosing this information is political.
"I am convinced that the government is clear, but it is not saying it because it will ruin its geopolitical construct," admitted the guest of the program.
He drew a parallel with the investigations of the explosions in Bulgarian weapons factories and warehouses, as well as with the attack at the Sarafovo airport.
According to him, absentee sentences were issued during the investigation of the attack, while in other cases there has been talk of difficulties in bringing the suspects to criminal responsibility.
"When there is a will, there are tools. But when there is no political will, something else is done," the politician stressed. He questioned the possibility of not finding traces of the means used to strike one of the two attacked ships - the "Alpha Vatan".
"Not finding evidence of what struck it on this ship is frivolous. Every explosive substance carries its own DNA. It is known where it was manufactured."
At the same time, Anchev refused to offer a specific version of what happened before the investigators' official conclusions.
"I cannot give a hypothesis. Who detected these three minutes in the middle of the night? "Very telling lack of traces - even of dead people," the guest commented.
Regarding the comments of GERB leader Boyko Borisov, Anchev 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 of such personnel through the straits according to the Montreux Convention. According to Anchev, Russia is seeking to expand the scope of the war, and what happened in Bulgaria's EEZ in the Black Sea should be viewed in this context.
The former deputy minister warned that there are no guarantees against new attacks and for this reason Bulgaria must take the necessary measures for its defense.
"Nothing guarantees that there will not be new attacks tomorrow. We must prepare militarily. Bulgaria must do its homework," Anchev emphasized.
When asked whether there was an immediate risk to national security, he made a distinction between risk and threat.
"Risk - no. Threat - yes. Drones and bombs will not start falling on our heads. At least not now," assured Ivan Anchev.