site.bta ABV: Hostility against Russia Doesn't Befit Bulgaria

ESD 18:04:01 01-09-2014
PP1803ES.123
123 POLITICS-ABV-FORUM-RUSSIA

ABV: Hostility
against Russia
Doesn't Befit Bulgaria


Sofia, September 1 (BTA) - "Bulgaria can't be a hawk, when it
comes to its relations with Russia, neither can Europe's modern
architecture be directed against Russsa. I hope that current EU
and international leaders will see this as the Great Powers are
faced with too many challenges in order to afford such a
confrontation," said former president and ABV leader Georgi
Purvanov on Monday. He was speaking at a forum on
Bulgarian-Russian relations at the northern town of Pleven, ABV
said.

Attending the forum were history professor Andrey Pantev,
journalist Toma Tomov, ABV deputy leader Roumen Petkov, Prof.
Grigor Gorchev, and Tsvetan Antov, ABV's MP candidate for the
Pleven constituency.

Purvanov said that the forum comes on the heels of a number of
reports and documents which claim that Russia is a threat to
Bulgaria' national security.

Purvanov dismissed President Rosen Plevneliev's position as
provocative to Russia. He added that hostility against Russia
doesn't befit Bulgaria and that Bulgaria should defend its right
to "more specific relations" with Russia.

Prof. Andrey Pantev called recent developments "an orgy of
lies". Putting things into an historic perspective, he said that
all those that drove Bulgaria to conflict with Russia, at the
end of the day became allies with it, while Bulgaria found
itself on the losing side.

Roumen Petkov said that there are many instances of inadequate
conduct towards Russia including from the previous government
which closed the Moscow office of the Interior Ministry.
According to Petkov, Bulgaria is the only country which under a
2006 agreement with Russia may receive the full volume of
information about people, goods, services and money movements
through an office in Moscow. VI/PP