site.btaForeign Minister: Bulgaria Does Not Support Imposition of Symbolic Sanctions on Russian Patriarch Kirill

Bulgaria does not support the imposition of sanctions to Russian Patriarch Kirill, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova told journalists before the meeting of the Foreign Policy Committee on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Arianna Podesta said that the European Commission hopes the newly proposed sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine will be adopted as soon as possible.

Petrova said Bulgaria supports sanctions against Russia, as long as they have a real economic impact on the country waging the war and do not inflict greater damage on EU Member States. The sanctions should be economic rather than symbolic in nature, she added.

"There are a number of elements that we do not support, mainly related to energy policies, so as to ensure the energy stability of the country. The others are sanctions related to the Russian Patriarch Kirill, which fall into the category of symbolic sanctions that have the potential to be counterproductive," the Minister pointed out. "I do not think that limiting the financial assets of the Russian Patriarch in certain banks will prevent his activities," the Foreign Minister added.