site.btaDemocrats for Strong Bulgaria: Russia Wants to Open Consulate General in Varna

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), a party within the Democratic Bulgaria coalition that is in the National Assembly as the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria parliamentary group, Tuesday said they have received information that the Russian Federation, through a diplomatic note sent by its Embassy in Sofia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has requested permission to open a Consulate General in Varna (on the Black Sea) under the formal pretext of a reciprocity procedure. The plan is for the Consulate General to be located in a business building, just 200 metres from the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy, the DSB said in a press release.

According to DSB's information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent the request for an opinion to the State Agency for National Security, but the process is being suspiciously delayed, creating the danger of so-called “tacit consent.”

According to DSB, this request is a "blatant attempt to position an operational base in a hostile manner near a strategic military facility belonging to NATO's collective security system, and cannot be allowed."

DSB recall that the Russian Consulate General in Varna was closed in October 2023, after the Government of Kiril Petkov (Continue the Change) expelled 70 Russian diplomats and officials a year earlier for activities that directly threatened national security. At that time, the consulates in Varna and Ruse (on the Danube) were left without staff, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were severely strained.

"Today, amid ongoing bloody aggression against Ukraine, with Bulgaria declared an 'enemy state' by the Kremlin, and with proven repeated attempts by Russian special services to use diplomatic cover for espionage and hybrid warfare, the return of such a structure, especially in close proximity to a key NATO base, is a direct threat to the security of our country and our allies," the press release reads.

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria urge the Government, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to immediately and categorically reject the request. This is necessary to protect Bulgaria's national security and commitments to its allies within the Alliance.