site.btaBulgaria Recalls Its Ambassador to Belarus for Consultations

October 8 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva tweeted on Thursday that Bulgaria is recalling its Ambassador to Belarus for consultations. "With this decision we are expressing our solidarity and support to our EU partners," Zaharieva wrote from Bratislava, where she is attending the annual GLOBSEC Forum on Security, European Affairs, Energy, Economy, and Strategic Communications.

Two days ago, Poland and Lithuania said they were recalling their ambassadors from Minsk for consultations followed last week's announcement by Belarus that it was recalling its ambassadors from the two countries and urging them to do the same. Belarus also demanded that Poland and Lithuania scale down their diplomatic missions in the country because of their "destructive activity", the Associated Press reported. On Wednesday, Estonia announced that it was recalling its Ambassador from Minsk.

The chief Bulgarian diplomat also tweeted that she had met with one of Belarus' opposition leaders, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, during GLOBSEC. "I have expressed my support for the Belarusian people in their fight for democracy, justice and freedom. People have the right to decide their own future!," Zaharieva specified.

In a press release about the meeting with Tikhanovskaya and the decision to recall the Bulgarian Ambassador, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said that on October 8 Ambassador Georgi Vassilev presented a note on his departure to the Foreign Ministry in Minsk on October 8. RI/LN
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