A protest by the civil association BOEC is being held in front of the Russian Embassy in Sofia demanding that Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova be recalled. The demonstration is under the slogan “Stop Russian aggression! Mitrofanova out!“ and started at 18:30.
The organizers are demanding a categorical reaction from the Bulgarian authorities due to the attacks on merchant ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. Alleged Russian sabotage actions against critical infrastructure sites in the country were also cited as an additional reason.
Georgi Georgiev: The ship incident confirms the need for protest
The chairman of the BOEC, Georgi Georgiev, told the Bulgarian National Radio that the action was announced on Monday. According to him, the latest incident with an attacked and subsequently sunk ship confirms the need for a civil reaction.
He accused the government of “condescension“ and said that in his opinion the authorities are not naming the alleged aggressor in the series of attacks on civilian ships. These assessments are the position of the chairman of BOEC and do not represent a confirmed conclusion of the Bulgarian institutions.
What BOEC is insisting on
The association first wants Russia to be handed an official diplomatic note, and then Mitrofanova to be declared persona non grata. Georgiev said that last week representatives of BOEC went to the Russian embassy and left a similar note in the courtyard, after they were not received in person.
According to him, the BOEC protests will continue after the elections. The Russian embassy has not stated a position on the demonstrators' demands in the published information.
Sources: novini.bg, bnrnews.bg