EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Bulgarian EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva for her promise to take care of Russian children and fireman hurt by the sweeping wildfires throughout Russia.

By the end of last week, more than 800 forest fires were reported in Russia, The New York Times wrote.

Dense smog smothered Moscow for days, and the concentration of harmful substances in the air exceeded the norm 7 times. Authorities have also informed that the mortality rate in the city was up two times.

“Europe is everywhere where Russia needs. Relations become stronger in times of crisis,” Georgieva, Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said Thursday in an interview for the Bulgarian National Darik Radio.

Georgieva is prepared to take victims into the EU and to provide funding and equipment to Russia; equipment being what Vladimir Putin has stated his country needs most to subdue the fires.

She has explained that in a critical situation, she could approve up to EUR 3 M in 24 hours to be sent as a financial aid to the suffering country.

In addition, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has offered Georgieva's home nation as refuge to thousands of Russian children and elderly who need medical care and rehabilitation as a result of the wildfires.

In the coming days, 10 000 children and hundreds of elderly are scheduled to arrive in Bulgaria.

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