site.btaSofia Expresses Shock and Compassion after Paris Attacks

Sofia Expresses Shock and Compassion after Paris Attacks

Sofia, November 14 (BTA) – Sofia expressed shock and solidarity with the French people after the multiple attacks in Paris Friday night which took more than a hundred lives. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov called the attacks “a new September 11 for Europe”. He was speaking to the press after an emergency meeting of the Interior Ministry security and migration headquarter he called Saturday noon.

There is no indication of an immediate terror threat for Bulgaria, Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said after the meeting in her Ministry. Also participating were Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev, Health Minister Peter Moskov, Transport and IT Minister Ivaylo Moskovski, the heads of the National Intelligence Service and the State Agency for National Security.

The Foreign Ministry said that no Bulgarian citizens have been hurt in the attacks.

Parliament leader Tsetska Tsacheva, President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Borissov and Foreign Minister Mitov have sent messages to their counterparts to convey their compassion and offer solidarity.

Writing to President Francois Hollande, President Plevneliev says that he was “shocked and horrified” to hear of the attacks which took the lives of innocent people in the very heart of Paris. He calls the attacks barbaric and inhuman, aimed against the principles and foundation of democratic societies. “I believe that democracy and the values we believe in, are stronger than terrorism and cannot be defated,” he wrote.

National Assembly Chair Tsacheva wrote to the leaders of the two chambers of the French Parliament. “I am sure that this brutal criminal act will double the energy of the institutions, the civil society and the global democratic community for an unrelenting struggle with terrorism,” she says.

Prime Minister Borissov expressed the anger and indignation of the Bulgarian people over the attacks, and the compassion for the lost lives in messages to President Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls. “I confirm our readiness to provide assistance at this difficult moment. Terrorism will be defeated. This attack against France and the values that the French people stand for, will consolidate our will for a victory in the struggle with terrorism,” Borissov wrote.

“We offer our heart-felt condolences for the families and friends of the victims, and condemn all form of terrorism. We offer our solidarity with the French people in this difficult moment,” Foreign Minister Mitov said in a statement.