site.btaForeign Minister: Partner Countries Have Not Reacted to Socialist Delegation to China

The Foreign Ministry has not received any questions, notes, or comments from Bulgaria’s partner countries in the European Union (EU) or NATO regarding the visit of the leadership of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) to China, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said in response to a question from MP Elisaveta Belobradova of Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria. The question concerned the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov in a military parade in Beijing. The response was published on the website of the National Assembly.

On September 3, BSP Chairman Atanas Zafirov and his delegation attended a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and held talks with Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping, according to the BSP’s press center.

According to official information from the Bulgarian Embassy in China, Zafirov's attendance at the parade was in his capacity as Chairman of BSP, Georgiev clarified.

Bulgaria did not participate in the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, nor in the subsequent “SCO+” meeting, and no official-level participation was carried out, the foreign minister further stated.

CC–DB called for Atanas Zafirov’s resignation as Deputy Prime Minister over his attendance of the military parade, but Zafirov said he has no intention of resigning.