site.btaGERB, Reformist Bloc Deplore Russian Journalist and MP Tolstoy's Remarks about "Buying Bulgaria"

GERB, Reformist Bloc Deplore Russian Journalist and MP Tolstoy's Remarks about "Buying Bulgaria"

Sofia, September 21 (BTA) - GERB and the Reformist Bloc read declarations in Parliament on Wednesday, deploring the statement made by Russian TV journalist and MP Pyotr Tolstoy, that Russia "will buy the entire Bulgaria" and that it "has already purchased half of its coast." Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has also condemned Tolstoy's remarks, which he made speaking to a Bulgarian National Television reporter Sunday covering the Russian elections.

Later on Wednesday, Tolstoy told Russia's TASS News Agency that his remarks about Bulgaria were "humorous" and that he did not mean to offend the country and its citizens.

GERB

GERB demands a public apology from Tolstoy for his provocative conduct, GERB Deputy Floor Leader Tsveta Karayancheva declared and called upon Tolstoy's United Russia party to immediately distance itself from the MP's words.

GERB says Tolstoy's words are unacceptable for a politician and are an insult to the national honour of Bulgarians. Karayancheva also called them scandalous geopolitical statements hurting the historical feelings of Bulgarian citizens and setting Russophiles against Russophobes. In her words, his assertion that half of the coast has already been purchased is untrue, manipulative and can easily be checked.

Tolstoy's opinion is detrimental to bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Russia, the GERB MP pointed out. GERB regards the arrogant conduct of any foreign citizen who abuses the name and honour of the Bulgarian people as incompatible with good diplomatic tone.

Does the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) approve of the series of events setting Bulgarians against one another and dividing them into those who love Russia and those who support European policy, Karayancheva asked. Will BSP Left Bulgaria for once place national interests above its ambitions and affiliations, and will Kornelia Ninova and her supporters continue hissing at the EU and NATO, feeding hatred among Bulgarians who love Russia, she continued.

In her words, the Bulgarian people are grateful to all soldiers who have given their lives for Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule, but this does not presuppose territorial, economic or geopolitical dependence.

Reformist Bloc

In a separate declaration, the Reformist Bloc said what they called "yet another arrogant statement of a Russian MP" was an encroachment on national security, democratic order and national honour, and demanded Bulgarian institutions to take the responsibility, investigate and alert the Bulgarian public about any attempt for betrayal or sale of Bulgarian national interests. The declaration was read by National Assembly Deputy Chairman Ivan Ivanov.

The reformists appealed to the Bulgarian institutions, particularly the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to demand the official position of the Kremlin and the Russian embassy in Sofia on Tolstoy statement. The public and the state should be informed about all suspicious projects in the field of energy, real estate, fuels, banking and investment, communications during the acquisition of Bulgarian national assets, supported by Bulgarian MPs, civil servants, public and media figures, as well as staff of the special services, Ivanov demanded.

According to the Reformist Bloc, such a statement is a direct intervention in the home affairs of the Bulgarian state and undermines national sovereignty.

The words of MP Tolstoy, Ivanov underscored, are not simply a political provocation, a political madness of misjudged words or an expression of hopeless political illiteracy. "When one of the sinister necromancers of Great Russia propaganda behaves himself like an imperial official in respect to a proud people and a proud country, we can be absolutely sure that this is a matter of political tactics adopted at the top level of the Russian state machine in the context of the global, hybrid war, waged by Moscow against freedom and democracy on a world scale," the declaration of the Right-wing alliance says.

BSP Left Bulgaria

"This is how the world will regard us while you're in power - disparagingly, with "bosses" (referring to the EU) commanding you, all of which will mean that Bulgaria, the Bulgarian people and national interest lose," BSP Left Bulgaria Chair Kornelia Ninova said, speaking from the parliamentary rostrum in response to GERB's arguments.

The BSP does not believe the statement of Russian MP Tolstoy to be sufficiently serious to be discussed by the Bulgarian Parliament, Ninova added. The incumbents in Bulgaria are people without character, without a position on national interests. In Ninova's opinion, what the incumbents are doing proves why the world regards Bulgaria in this manner, why someone from the East wants to buy and someone from the West wants to make Bulgaria a buffer zone for migrants.

Ataka

Since you are condemning this Russian MP (Pyotr Tolstoy), why don't you take a look at what kind of things our statesmen, including the President, are saying against Russia," Ataka MP Stanislav Stanilov asked in Parliament. There are all kinds of exotic people in politics and this has not value, he said, referring to the Russian MP's statement. According to Stanilov, the media and politicians have been way too vocal over something that does not deserve such attention. He recalled that Ataka leader Volen Siderov condemned Tolstoy's remarks on Tuesday before the media.