site.btaForeign Minister Mitov: "Bulgaria Hasn't Exported Arms to Syria since Conflict Began in 2011"

Foreign Minister Mitov: "Bulgaria Hasn't Exported Arms to Syria since Conflict Began in 2011"

Sofia, December 29 (BTA) - Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov Thursday told bTV that Bulgaria had not exported weapons to Syria since the conflict began in 2011. He was reacting to Moscow's allegations that Bulgarian-made military goods had been found in Syria.

On Wednesday, Russia's TASS news agency reported that Russian combat engineers had found ammunition made in the United States, Germany and Bulgaria during their mine clearance operation in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Prompted by a story from the special correspondent to Aleppo of Bulgaria's "Troud" daily, which quoted unnamed sources as saying that "2 million munitions for heavy machine guns and 4,000 missiles for Grad multiple missile launchers originating from Bulgaria" had been found in Aleppo's old town alone, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on Moscow's "Euro-Atlantic critics to speak less and to do more to take up measures on curbing supplies of weapons to terrorists". The story in "Troud" mentioned the name of the Bulgarian exporter of the ammunition and claimed that documents showed it had been prepared for export in July and October 2015.

Mitov said: "I do not accept allegations from a country which is to blame for civilian deaths in Aleppo. Russia is not party to the Arms Trade Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention. A country like that cannot lecture Bulgaria, which strictly meets its commitments." He added that he would welcome Russia's accession to those treaties because "this would restrict the access of Russian weapons and ammunition both to Syria and to Eastern Ukraine".

Reacting to Zakharova's allegation that "the above products are manufactured under expired Soviet licences," Mitov said that after the Soviet Union's disintegration, licences stopped being serviced and various countries started manufacturing weapons with structural changes, using different materials, which resulted in an essentially different product. Mitov added he did not expect this to cause a diplomatic scandal between Russia and Bulgaria.

Commenting on President Rosen Plevneliev's statement that Russia is pursuing a policy of undermining the EU from within, Mitov said the President was saying things that were generally known. "This is not about enemies. However, major geopolitical dislocations are taking place, and the EU's destabilization is a fact precisely due to them. Russia is not our enemy but we should face up to reality. This is not about enemies but about interests," the Foreign Minister stressed.

A targeted campaign is underway to restore some kind of Russian influence in countries which are part of the EU and NATO - not just in Eastern Europe but in Western Europe as well, according to Mitov.

He added: "The rhetoric used is along the lines of 'X is Y's servant'. But we are part of values-based alliances. We do not have to consider someone an enemy to be able to voice truths. Russia has its own interest, but it is not Bulgaria's interest. Our interest is to be part of the educated, civilized European world."

"For instance, the idea that Bulgaria could be pulled out of NATO is problematic, and such ideas get floated around. NATO is the biggest guarantor of Bulgaria's national security. NATO accounts for 70 per cent of the world's military potential - this is the largest military and political alliance in human history. Exiting NATO would pose a threat to Bulgaria," said Mitov.

The Foreign Minister also commented on reports that Turkey has barred some 160 Bulgarians from entering its territory, including Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Mustafa Karadayi. Mitov said: "Turkey, like the other countries, has a list of persons banned from entering its territory and is not obliged to give its reasons. Sometimes it is about things we do not approve or understand. Bulgaria reserves the right to take reciprocal action."