site.btaVazrazhdane Says Foreign Embassy Interfered to End Prosecution of Ex-PM's Foreign Policy Adviser for Leaking Classified Documents to Skopje

In a declaration read out in Parliament's debating chamber, Vazrazhdane said that a foreign embassy interfered to stop the prosecution of Vesselva Cherneva, the foreign policy advisor to former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, for leaking to Skopje classified documents. The documents allegedly contained the Bulgarian position on the EU accession of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Information about the proceedings against Cherneva was first made public during a Parliamentary hearing of the head of the State Agency for National Security, Plamen Tonchev, who said that the Petkov cabinet (December 2021 - August 2022) failed to protect the national interests and cited as an example the actions of his adviser. Tonchev did not mention Cherneva by name but the media recognized her in his words.

As he read out his party's declaration, MP Angel Georgiev of Vazrazhdane said that according to media reports, the proceedings against Cherneva were discontinued "under pressure from a Western embassy with much clout in Bulgaria", which, he specified, was not the US Embassy. 

Vazrazhdane consistently blames Bulgarian politicians for getting instructions from the US Embassy - but not in this case. 

According to the nationalist party, this is yet another case of interference in the home affairs of Bulgaria and it proves that this country is incapable of resisting foreign influences.

Vazrazhdane insist that a parliamentary hearing be held behind closed door of the chiefs of the State Agency for National Security, the intelligence, the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister.