Bulgaria's outgoing Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin has suggested that new sanctions against Russia will have a negative impact on the entire EU.

In a Wednesday interview for the Bulgarian National Television, he claimed that the restrictive measures which the 28 EU Member States were currently discussing would not affect Bulgaria.

He said that the better scenario was for the conflict and the military actions to stop and diplomatic negotiations to start.

As regards the newly adopted state budget update, Vigenin noted that the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) was opposed to the step.

Stressing that BSP had not renounced the outgoing socialist-led government, he added that right-wing formation The Reformist Bloc and the ABV Movement (Alternative for Bulgarian Revival) were also against the budget revision.

He said that the situation at the Foreign Ministry was normal and no last-minute appointments were expected.

As regards the next Bulgarian EU Commissioner, he suggested that the chances of Kristalina Georgieva becoming High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security were minimal.

Vigenin rejected accusations that he was working against her bid but he insisted that her nomination was supposed to have been accompanied by comprehensive debates.

Bulgaria's outgoing Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that President Rosen Plevneliev had already announced the nomination of Kristalina Georgieva in an interview for a TV program, despite the fact that the political parties had given up talks on the matter, delegating the decision to the caretaker government.