site.btaABV Insists on Joint Declaration that Bulgaria Would Not Allow to Be Source of Hostile Policy towards its Neighbours

ABV Insists on Joint Declaration that Bulgaria Would Not Allow to Be Source of Hostile Policy towards its Neighbours

Sofia, June 19 (BTA) - "ABV insists on a joint declaration stating clearly and categorically that Bulgaria would not allow hostile policy and actions in respect of its neighbours to originate from its territory," ABV leader Georgi Purvanov said here on Sunday.

He noted that a joint Black Sea fleet is not a new idea and reminds him of the practices of setting up the so-called "Balkan Pact", which was rejected in history. Purvanov added that his party moved for a joint parliamentary declaration to be adopted by consensus and to set a framework and give a mandate to the head of State and the delegation that will represent Bulgaria at the forthcoming NATO Summit. "The reason for this is that any more improvisations are out of the question, I think," he said.

"Foreign policy will be a much more important issue at the presidential elections this coming autumn than five years ago," ABV Deputy Chairman Ivailo Kalfin said at the same discussion, which was entitled "The President: Part of the Solutions or Part of the Problems in Foreign Policy."

"Today the world is quite different. Insecurity and tensions are growing, and the cooperation mechanisms are unable to cope with the new problems that keep arising," Kalfin said, quoted in an ABV press release. "Bulgaria is in a volatile international environment, in which tensions in the adjoining regions can easily escalate into open conflicts. What can Bulgaria rely on? On NATO and the EU. This is normal, but we must stop treating uncritically the organizations of which we are members," he pointed out. In his words, both organizations need rehabilitation and our country can and must be a part of that.

"Our NATO and EU membership is not incompatible with our good relations with Russia, as long as we prioritize our national interest," said Kalfin, who was Bulgaria's foreign minister between 2005 and 2009.