“Our approach is philosophical. We understand that Bulgaria is a small country and it has to develop. The EU provides funds and helps. But I don’t think that’s a reason to sacrifice relations with Russia,” Russian Ambassador to Sofia Eleonora Mitrofanova stated on bTV on Sunday.

Just after Mitrofanova started her mandate in Bulgaria at the beginning of March, a few Bulgarian citizens were arrested in Sofia for allegedly participating in a Russian spy network. Since then, both Sofia and Moscow have expelled diplomats.

According to Mitrofanova, there is no ideological tension between Russia and Bulgaria, but their relations in the last two years are in a period of diplomatic opposition.

“Expelling diplomats without evidence is incomprehensible. This was preceded by a period of flourishing relations – there were visits of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and PM Boyko Borissov, Russian Dimitri Medvedev in 2019. Everything looked great. But I don’t think this was liked in the paradigm of the EU. And after an American visit the law enforcement system started persecuting diplomats”, Mitrofanova said.

She added that Moscow had received very little information from the prosecutor’s office.

The Russian ambassador pointed out that Russia accepts Bulgaria’s choice to be a member of the EU and NATO, but she does not expect the alliance group solidarity to hinder pragmatic cooperation with the rest of the world. 

According to her, there is currently a geopolitical battle between forces that want a multi-polar world and those who want a uni-polar world. According to her, the US uses terms such as democracy and human rights to subordinate certain countries. /Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg