DSB: Russia seeks to open consulate near Bulgarian Navy HQ in Varna

The Russian embassy in Sofia has sent a diplomatic note to the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting the opening of a consulate general in Varna under the pretext of a “reciprocity procedure”, the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) – part of the opposition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria coalition – said in a media statement on August 12.

The plan is to locate the consulate in a business building at the intersection of Dunav and Kozloduy streets – just 200 metres from the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy, the DSB said.

The party, headed by Atanas Atanasov, said that the Foreign Ministry had forwarded Russia’s request to the State Agency for National Security for an opinion.

According to DSB, the response from the State Agency for National Security was taking a suspiciously long time, thus creating a danger of so-called “tacit consent”.

The DSB said that this request represents a blatant attempt to hostilely position an operational base next to a strategic military facility of the Nato collective security system and cannot be allowed.

“We recall that the Russian consulate in Varna was closed in October 2023, after a year earlier the government of Kiril Petkov expelled 70 Russian diplomats and employees – accused of activities directly threatening national security.

“At that time, the consulates in Varna and Rousee were left without personnel, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were severely deteriorated,” the DSB said.

According to the DSB, against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine and given the fact that Bulgaria was declared an “enemy state” by the Kremlin – the return of such a structure in the immediate vicinity of a key Nato base would be a direct threat to the security of Bulgaria and its allies.

The DSB called on the ministry to “immediately and categorically” reject the request to open a Russian consulate general in Bulgaria’s maritime capital.

“Any other decision in this case would represent a political capitulation to a hostile force and a direct threat to the defence potential of Bulgaria and Nato in the Black Sea region,” the party said.

(Archive photo: Russia’s embassy in Sofia)