Opposition Democratic Bulgaria calls for hearing of PM, protest to Russian ambassador over drone attacks on vessels

Opposition coalition Democratic Bulgaria put forward on October 13 five steps that it said need to be taken in response to the latest attacks on merchant vessels very close to Bulgaria’s territorial waters.

“Today, a Ukrainian ship, with a Ukrainian crew, has already been hit very close to Bulgaria’s territorial waters by three Russian drones, and a second one has sunk near Krapets. The authorities need to get their heads out of the sand. We will help them with what needs to happen,” Democratic Bulgaria said.

First, Russian ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova should be summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for explanations and handed a note, Democratic Bulgaria said.

Second, Bulgaria should demand categorical guarantees from Russia that there will be no such attacks.

Third, Bulgaria to initiate urgent consultations in Nato, it said.

Urgently, the Prime Minister and the heads of security and intelligence services should be heard in Parliament today.

Fifth, Bulgaria should request Nato to deploy adequate air defence along Bulgaria’s coast in order to protect the country.

Democratic Bulgaria said that formation states that the policy of Prime Minister Roumen Radev and President Iliana Yotova demeaning themselves in front of Russia did not impress Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, Democratic Bulgaria said.

“It was clear that Russia was hitting the ships off the coast of Bulgaria. Even at the Consultative Council on National Security, one of the services reported that according to partner intelligence data, it was undoubtedly Russia. And the heads of the State Agency for National Security, Military Intelligence and the State Intelligence Agency had no doubt that it was Russia attacking.”

“Then we from Democratic Bulgaria demanded that Mitrofanova be summoned, that she be handed a note and that Bulgaria demand an end to any attacks on merchant ships by Russia in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone,” Democratic Bulgaria.

Then Radev and Yotova did not dare to tell the truth to the Bulgarians and mumbled that things were “50:50”, the opposition group said, referring to the Prime Minister and the President refusing to apportion blame.

“The government horribly kowtowed before the Kremlin once again,” Democratic Bulgaria said, saying that the policy of kowtowing and fear leads to this – the more you kowtowing before Putin, the harder they hit you.

“Today we have a president who is afraid to call Russia an aggressor,” the group said.

Andrei Gyurov, who is standing in Bulgaria’s presidential elections on a ticket backed by Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change, urged Bulgaria’s government to immediately request consultations under Article 4 of the Nato Treaty over attacks on merchant ships in close proximity to the Bulgarian coast.

He made the request in a video posted on his Facebook page.

“An escalation that came after the timid reaction of President Yotova and the government a few days ago,” Gyurov said.

He criticised the ruling party for the week’s disputes over whether the drones were Russian and for “desirable measures” such as support for a moratorium on strikes on merchant ships in the Black Sea.

“I urge the government to immediately request consultations under Article 4 of the Nato Treaty and to present a concrete plan for the protection of the Bulgarian coast and shipping. The security of our people comes first and must be protected immediately!” Gyurov said.

Article 4 of the Nato Treaty provides for joint consultations when, in the opinion of any member state, there is a threat to the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of them.

Daniel Mitov, an MP for GERB-UDF and a former foreign minister, said on October 13: “Where is the foreign minister? What is she doing? Where exactly is she?”

Mitov was commenting on Prime Minister Roumen Radev saying that he had summoned Russian ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova over the new attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea.

“The Black Sea bottom is a waiting room for Bulgarian diplomacy,” Mitov said.

GERB will request a special sitting of Parliament on the attacks and measures to protect shipping.

GERB-UDF MP and former foreign minister Georg Georgiev described Mitrofanova’s summons as a “smokescreen.”

Georgiev said that the mechanisms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be activated before a conversation with the Prime Minister – a demarche or an official note verbal.

“Anyone who understands at least a little about international relations, about diplomatic protocol, knows that the ambassador is not equal to the prime minister,” Georgiev said.

Georgiev said that Radev could call Vladimir Putin or Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov directly and ask if the drones are Russian.

Georgiev accused the government of not responding decisively to the previous attacks, and now the fighting is approaching Bulgaria.

“We see that, most unfortunately, a soft position or the absence of one at all does not pay off,” he said.

Mitov said that the conversation with Mitrofanova “is not a triumph of diplomacy” .

He said that the refusal to clearly name Russia as the aggressor is perceived by the Kremlin as weakness and encourages new attacks.

“A toothless, soft, benevolent attitude towards aggression always leads to one thing – to an increase in aggression,” he said.

GERB will collect signatures for an special sitting of Parliament with the participation of the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and the security and intelligence services. The party proposes to have a closed section for presenting sensitive information about the attacks.

“These are not atmospheric phenomena. The drones did not appear out of nowhere. The Kremlin is not a meteorological service,” Mitov said.