site.btaAlexey Petrov Not Involved in Cabinet Formation, PM Denkov, Deputy PM Gabriel Say

All that has been said about involvement of Alexey Petrov in the government formation, is a complete fabrication, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said after a meeting with representatives of the Interior Ministry and the security services Friday. Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel also attended the event. The meeting was convened due to the increase in serious criminal offences in Bulgaria in recent days.

Prime Minister Denkov was adamant that Alexey Petrov had nothing to do with the legislative and governance agenda. In Denkov’s words, these are speculations that try to give the government a negative image using the circumstances. He also stressed he had seen Petrov during meetings with representatives of the Union for Private Economic Enterprise, but had not personally spoken to him, and that during the talks with GERB-UDF Petrov’s name was not mentioned when discussing the ministerial position.

According to Denkov, the speculations come from the same politicians who have been trying to bring down the regular government since its first day in power.

“Alexey Petrov's name has definitely not been discussed as [potential] director of the State Agency for National Security (SANS)”, Denkov denied.

Deputy PM Gabriel also denied Petrov’s involvement in the forming of the government in power. Gabriel explained she had not met Alexey Petrov and clarified that she had seen him for the first time during a meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation.

Denkov also said that Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria MPs Hristo Ivanov, Atanas Atanasov and Kiril Petkov have been assigned security detail because of a signal that has nothing to do with the case of Alexey Petrov.

There will be a meeting of the government’s Security Council, which will discuss issues related to national security, and the murder of Alexey Petrov is not such a case at all, Denkov further said.