site.btaBulgarian PM Petkov Talks by Phone with US Secretary of State Blinken

December 17 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Bulgarian Government Information Service reported on Friday.

Blinken congratulated Petkov on successfully forming a new Bulgarian government and expressed his country's support for the new cabinet's priorities: tackling the COVID crisis, rule of law and counter-corruption reforms, as well as enhanced energy diversification and independence. The Secretary of State stressed that the US and Bulgaria share a common vision of the benefits that such initiatives will bring to the Bulgarian people, the press release says.

On behalf of the US, Blinken thanked Bulgaria for being a reliable ally and partner. He reaffirmed the desire of the US to ramify its partnership with Bulgaria in new areas, such as promotion of carbon-free energy sources, defence modernization, 5G network security and regional issues.