site.bta President Plevneliev: "If Our Russian Partners Are Honest with Us, Their Planes Will Be Free to Overfly Bulgaria"

President Plevneliev: "If Our Russian Partners Are Honest with Us, Their Planes Will Bе Free to Overfly Bulgaria"

Plovdiv, South Central Bulgaria, September 10 (BTA) - "If our
Russian partners are honest with us, their planes will be freely
 overflying Bulgaria," Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said
 here on Thursday, commenting on whether Bulgaria should have
granted Russia's request for access to Bulgarian airspace for
military transport flights to Syria.

Asked about Russian planes flying to the airfield near the
Syrian city of Latakia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
told a news conference in Moscow on Thursday that they were
carrying humanitarian aid and military equipment in accordance
with existing contracts and international rules.

"Bulgaria is a worthy NATO member, we have information and
services, we have the instruments necessary to draw a difference
 between a humanitarian flight and one which purports to be such
 but isn't. We were completely honest: if you want, land at our
airport, let's check, you're welcome, then you'll fly on.
Bulgaria showed strong will and once again proved a worthy
member of the family of rules, of the rule of law, of the honest
 position as a paramount value," Plevneliev said.

"Bulgaria is a sovereign State, a worthy EU and NATO member, it
actively stands up for the rules and defence policy of the
Alliance, it is a good member of the world family that seeks to
address the problems in Syria and not to deepen them," the head
of State emphasized. In his words, Bulgaria has scored a lot of
points for its effective activity as a EU and NATO member over
the last two years. "I'm glad to see this gained momentum. We
should not keep to the fringe of the two organizations, whimper
and wait for somebody else to solve our problems," the President
 argued. In his opinion, "Bulgaria handled the case the right
way, by the law and by the rules."

"We defend European values, we are ready to say 'no' to Russia
when we suspect that the rules will not be observed. We stand up
 for the common European position. We support the sanctions,
hoping that one day Russia will be a partner again, will return
to the negotiating table," Plevneliev said. He expressed
confidence that Russia will never more do what it did in
Ukraine: "destabilizing, sending its weapon systems, sending its
 'little green men', sending its soldiers to another sovereign
State." "From now on, Bulgaria will be acting the way it has
acted over the last two years: effectively and
self-confidently," the President stressed.

He added that everything that happened on the night to September
 6 was coordinated with him. "As head of State I gave the green
light to everything that the Bulgarian State did, and I was in
touch with the Chief of Defence, I also received briefings from
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I held a lot of talks with the
Minister of Defence, while it became clear that the Russians
after all decided not to initiate this provocation and to bypass
 Bulgaria," Plevneliev explained.