The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry proposes the closing of 30 diplomatic missions abroad from a total of 111, the Bulgarian daily “Trud” (Labor) reports Monday.

According to the article, some are in EU and NATO member states, but the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Vesela Cherneva, told another Bulgarian daily - “Dnevnik” - that the information is untrue, especially reports that the embassies will be closed in stages.

“Trud” lists missions in Ireland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Chile, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Pakistan, Mongolia, North Korea, Thailand and Cambodia among those slated for closure.

The daily further writes that during the “second wave,” the Ministry will close the embassies in Venezuela, Cuba, Portugal and the Vatican on “as needed basis” along with the Consular Offices in Odessa, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.

According to Cherneva, the issue of closing diplomatic missions must be first discussed with the Security Council at the Council of Ministers and the list must be aligned with a number of institutions such as the Ministries of Economy, Defense, Culture, and the Security Services.

On June 16, a team of experts presented to Foreign Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, the first draft of the Strategic Overview of the Diplomatic Missions on whose basis the final decisions for their closing, merge or opening will be made. The process is to last 2 to 3 years, the Ministry reminds.

Currently Bulgaria has 83 embassies, 6 permanent representations, 20 consular offices, and 2 diplomatic bureaus.

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