Standart Daily

Is the BSP's past weighing heavy on you?

-Yes it did, until recently. Though this past is quite unambiguous. It is for the first time that we were supported by many young people at this elections. It is for the first time that it is not a shame to vote for a candidate from the BSP. Until recently, many people were ashamed to do so.

You are among the political leaders who for several times warned the society that political police is introduced in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, Stoyanov came up with a report by Gen. Atanassov, which, to many people, contains no facts or evidence. How did you interpret this message of Stoyanov to the future?

- To you, I may say that at the time I was the first upon whom this report was foisted. I was probably one of the first people it was addressed to. The idea was that I, being in opposition, would start waving it around. Naturally, I declined to take such an action. The deed of Stoyanov is beneath any morality. To me, Stoyanov is involved in the umbrella opened over the corrupt, and is one of the statesmen who took the liberty to misuse the power.

Is this the reason for which Stoyanov protects Gen. Atanassov?

- He is defending him very persistently. To me, this is one of the explanations. Stoyanov and Kostov are the two sides of the same medal.

Is Parvanov for, or against NATO?

-Parvanov is not only for NATO, but he was the major factor of the change, that took place in the BSP. I hope that it will be me, in the capacity of the president, to make the decisive contribution to Bulgaria's joining NATO and EU.

Bulgaria is on poor terms with its neighbours. Why?

- To me, it is an expression of shortsighted policy, in the first place. There is no reasonable explanation why we broke our relations with Romania. In the same way we did not manage, after the ousting of Milosevic, to normalize our relations with Belgrade, given the new rulers there are very well-disposed towards Bulgaria. Our behaviour towards Macedonia is the most inexplicable to me. Ljubco Georgievski himself says that we did not manage to carry out one single economic project. In Macedonia, we are lagging dramatically behind the rest of our neighbours.

Bulgaria's relations with Turkey are very strange. Almost all the agreements between the premiers of the two countries failed for the reason that Bulgaria did not carry them out. It resulted in blatant chill in the relations of Ankara with Sofia. Why has this issue been kept in silence?

- There was something profoundly vicious in the attitude of the ex-government towards Turkey, and Petur Stoyanov was involved in it. The Stoyanov-Kostov team was searching for active relations with Turkey mainly to eliminate the MRF from the contacts with the Turkish ethnic community. Definitely, the relations with Turkey were not sincere. The events of the recent two years proved it.