site.btaForeign Minister on Bulgarian Killed in Gaza: Details Are Yet to Be Clarified

Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television on Friday night that the exact circumstances around the death of the Bulgarian citizen employed in the United Nations system who died in the Gaza Strip on March 19 are yet to be clarified.

Georgiev reported: "We have no information, we have no unequivocal data, we have no official results of an investigation to say what happened. What I got as intel immediately after I learned about the news of our compatriot being killed from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, the probes that our colleagues did with the UN representatives do not confirm that it was a deliberate attack."

The Minister also commented on the deadly fire that took place in Kocani, North Macedonia, in the early hours of March 16 saying: "Bulgaria really did everything possible, everything in its power to be up to the task of saving lives. And our quick, immediate reaction, the fact that we were, I think, the first to contact our colleagues in the Republic of North Macedonia, to respond with six ambulances, with an airplane, was dictated precisely by our deep conviction that this brotherly feeling should be expressed."

When asked about the protests in the Balkan countries, the Minister stated that Bulgaria has traditionally played the role of a stabilizing force in this distinctive region. "While we may not feel entirely safe when storms are raging around us, I believe the stability the regular government provides is undeniable," Georgiev said.