site.btaPM Glavchev: Bulgaria Has Nothing to Do with Exploding Pagers' Manufacture, Transit

"Bulgaria has nothing to do with the manufacture and transit of the pagers that have been detonated in Lebanon and Syria," Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said here on Friday. He specified that this country is not involved in the customs clearance of the goods, either.

The PM's comments were prompted by a report of the Hungarian news site Telex that the sale to Hezbollah of the pagers, which have so far killed 37 people and have wounded about 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, was facilitated by Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd.

"The only thing that happened were invoiced cash flows. The banks require that the invoices should specify the reason for the transfer. The invoices state that the payments were effected for services and not for goods," Glavchev explained.

Earlier on Friday, Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (SANS) said in a press release that a joint check with the Interior Ministry and the National Customs Agency had established incontrovertibly that communication devices consistent with those detonated in Lebanon and Syria on September 17, 2024 have not been imported, exported or manufactured in Bulgaria. SANS did not detect an involvement of Norta Global EOOD in any financial operations qualifying as terrorist financing or that it was trading with any UN- and EU-sanctioned persons.

In Glavchev's words, the case could not possibly impact Bulgaria's foreign policy. "The company is owned by a Norwegian national who has never set foot in Bulgaria," the PM said. "The cash flows for services that have passed through Bulgaria are completely unconcerned with the goods in question. Bulgaria is unrelated to the goods in question," he insisted.

Glavchev does not think that the case warrants a convocation of the Security Council with the Council of Ministers.