site.btaPrime Minister Borissov Urges Parliament to Reconsider Decision to Establish Ad Hoc Inquiry Committee for Checking Claims of Turkish, Russian Interference in Bulgaria's Domestic Policy

Prime Minister Borissov Urges Parliament to Reconsider Decision to Establish Ad Hoc Inquiry Committee for Checking Claims of Turkish, Russian Interference in Bulgaria's Domestic Policy

Sandanski, Southwest Bulgaria, February 27 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov asked GERB floor leader and Deputy Chair Tsvetan Tsvetanov to use all diplomatic mechanisms in Parliament and to assess the need for the creation of an ad hoc inquiry committee for investigating claims of Turkish and Russian Interference in Bulgaria's Domestic Policy, it transpired from a GERB youth conference held here on Saturday.

Borissov stressed that he is not interfering in Parliament's work, but was adamant in his position that nothing good will come out of this and it will deteriorate Bulgaria's relations with Russia and Turkey. The reactions from both countries are very harsh, he said, adding that this comes at a time when Bulgaria is seeking the best coordination to deal with the migrant wave. The Russian Federation made a big turn regarding the embargo, which it had imposed on tourism in Bulgaria, Borissov noted, adding that there is a 67 per cent increase in the vacation bookings for this summer in the coastal city of Bourgas alone. "I have just managed to balance the relations with both countries," he commented.

On February 19 Parliament established an ad hoc enquiry committee to investigate all facts and circumstances related to the claims that the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey have interfered in Bulgaria's domestic policy. The motion was entered by 72 MPs of GERB, BSP-Left Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, the Bulgarian Democratic Centre and the Patriotic Front, and was carried, 126-19 with 13 abstentions. The 16-member Committee, chaired by Valentin Radev MP of GERB, was given two months to complete its work.

The decision provoked a reaction by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who recalled the common historical moments of the two countries, Russia's role for Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule, and the victory against Nazism. She voiced concerns about the emergence of 'neo-McCarthyism' in Bulgarian society.