Bulgaria stirred a political scandal at NATO with the official nomination of Solomon Passy for the post of Secretary General of the Alliance, the Russian information agency ITAR-TASS writes Friday.

The publication quotes an anonymous diplomatic source, who had said that NATO followed the tradition of a confidential dialogue when a Secretary General nomination was on the table, adding that internal discussions of the nominations have started, but only at the level of official country Ambassadors.

The diplomat had voiced his regret about the "awkward and embarrassing" move of the Cabinet in Sofia and warned of future partisan bickering during the selection process, which could have a negative effect on NATO's image, ITAR-TASS informs.

The Darik radio further cites France Press (FP) as reporting that "with the official nomination of Solomon Passy as NATO Secretary General, Bulgaria opened the competition."

The FP publication confirms that on January 27, 26 Ambassadors have initiated the unofficial and confidential procedure of nominating potential candidates. One of the diplomats is described as being very surprised and defining Bulgaria's move as "strange and interfering with the tradition of maintaining confidentiality." The diplomat had said that the practice was to first make preliminary inquiries in the capitals of the NATO members.

Solomon Passy, on his part, told the Bulgarian Information Agency BTA that he was deeply satisfied by the fact that Bulgaria has decided to nominate the country's own candidate.

"With its decision, the Cabinet showed that we are serious about our participation in the Alliance. Each Bulgarian nomination must be seen as regional and representative of the Balkans, the new NATO members and the Black Sea region," Passy said.

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