Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has publicly dismissed allegations that the recent mobilization review of the Bulgarian army meant this country was preparing for war. "There is no direct threat, but we must be prepared," he said and pointed out that the mobilization review was a routine practice. The tone of the statement showed that claims Bulgaria prepared for war with Russia irritated greatly the Foreign Minister. Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev also made sardonic comments on this occasion.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister did not consider it necessary to specify that he was irritated by the statements of the leader of nationalist Ataka party Volen Siderov, but he did not have to do it, because no one else made similar claims. Minister Mitov sharply said that talks of plans for deploying weapons, including nuclear ones, near Shabla in Northeastern Bulgaria, were "outrageous and hysterical," while it was “madness" to think someone threatened Bulgaria or that it threatened other countries. According to the Minister, economic sanctions are the only instrument Europe has to influence the policy of Moscow. The Foreign Minister attributed the fact that Bulgaria joined the sanctions not only to compliance with the decisions of Brussels, but also with the principles of Bulgaria in relation to international law.

Losing his nerve, Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev directly accused Moscow of creating tension and panic in Bulgaria by spreading false information. The Minister said he felt as if there was a propaganda center that aimed to create panic among the people. He added this center was in Russia, while the Ataka party in Bulgaria was the one constantly coming out with statements and questions regarding this information.

To mitigate the effect of the unusually strong statement, the Ministry of Defense said that the Minister’s feeling of a presence of a propaganda center was not provoked by actual information coming from the military intelligence, but was “a personal conclusion."

However, Minister Mitov believes that the bilateral relations with Russia were not cold. Talks between Sofia and Moscow continue and the Bulgarian side adheres to the national position of understanding with Russia. But even if it was so, recent episodes of tension show the need for stabilizing the relations. It seems that in the current political situation this cannot happen easily.

Speaking about the tensions between the government and the Ataka Party, there is nothing surprising. Recently, Ataka leader Volen Siderov predicted that 2015 would be a year of unforeseeable events. According to him, the EU was collapsing while there would be strong waves of protests against the anti-social policy of the EU. He says the Atlantic and Eurasian world would be divided and Bulgaria would have to take some cardinal decisions. In this picture the nationalist leader sees similarities between his party and the Greek SYRIZA. But this is yet another topic for the ultranationalist with great sympathies towards Eurasia....

English: Alexander Markov