The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Sergey Stanishev, called on the country's Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg to abstain from voicing support for military operation in Iraq while he confers with US President Bush on Tuesday. "Bulgaria should not be among the countries that seek military action," the leftist leader said.

Stanishev made this statement upon arriving back from Brussels where he took part in the emergency meeting on Iraq of the Party of European Socialists.

He warned that the prime minister must avoid giving promises that would embarrass Bulgaria and create difficulties for the country.

Stanishev announced the position of the Party of European Socialists who said a strike on Iraq would lead to a "dangerous war with unpredictable consequences."

According to the leftist leader, the European socialists said that the Iraq crisis should not become a reason for hurdles in the process of enlargement of the European Union.

A few days ago, French President Chirac scourged Bulgaria for signing letters of support to US policy on Iraq and warned the country would face difficulties in the EU pre-accession negotiations.

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