site.btaUPDATED Political Figures, Parties Express Condolences to Families of Military Aircraft Crash Victims

Political parties and figures expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the two officer pilots that lost their lives in military aircraft crash at the Graf Ignatievo Air Base on Friday.

President Rumen Radev expressed condolences and canceled his scheduled appearances for the rest of the week. The head of State expects all the circumstances leading to this tragic incident to be clarified as soon as possible, his administration said in a press release.

Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Zapryanov expressed their condolences to the families during a briefing at Graf Ignatievo Air Base earlier on Friday. 

GERB leader Boyko Borissov sent condolences in Silistra (Northeast Bulgaria). "What is happening today and everything that is happening with the institutions is a complete collapse and chaos," he said. 

One of the two chairpersons of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) Delyan Peevski expressed condolences in a letter, distributed by the party's press centre.

MRF's co-chairman Dzhevdet Chakarov also expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the pilots.

In a separate letter, later on Friday, he asked for the resignations of Bulgarian Air Force Commander Dimitar Petrov, Graf Ignatievo Air Base Commander Nikolay Rusev. "They should take responsibility for the tragedy, and the competent investigative bodies should establish the causes and culprits of this grave accident, in order to prevent the tragic accident and the loss of human lives," he said.

The Yes, Bulgaria party, part of the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria coalition, expressed condolences on Facebook. On the same social network, Continue the Change also sent condolences through their official page. 

BSP for Bulgaria Floor Leader Borislav Gutsanov expressed condolences, speaking to journalists in Parliament. "The collapse of statehood is already taking victims, while we give our military equipment to a foreign army and country," the socialist leader said. 

He said that further comments on this particular case can be made after the final expertise comes out. "Let's see if the plane was in the condition it should have been. [...] The fact it has been six years and aircraft paid by the Bulgarian State have still not arrived is not normal. What can we expect since we are not rearming our army in the way it should be done," Gutsanov asked.

There is Such a People (TISP) leader Stanislav Trifonov expressed condolences on Facebook. "I am enraged because our Air Force is at a humiliatingly low level, leading to such tragedies," he wrote. "Respect for the fallen and disgust for those who by their inaction created the conditions for this to happen," Trifonov added.

Foreign Officials

North Macedonia's President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova expressed condolences to the families of the fallen after the end of her meeting with Radev at the Presidential Palace in Sofia. She showed understanding towards her Bulgarian counterpart's decision to cancel his attendance of Skopje National Opera and Ballet’s performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco at the Sofia Opera and Ballet later on Friday. 

US Ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten said he is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the two brave Bulgarian pilots" through the Embassy's official Facebook page. "Their dedication and sacrifice in service of Bulgaria will not be forgotten. Their families, friends, colleagues and the entire Bulgarian nation are in our hearts and thoughts," he wrote.