site.btaGERB-UDF Criticize Bulgarian Foreign Policy Concerning Iran in Declaration

In recent days, Bulgaria has found itself drawn into a diplomatic sequence that has called into question the manner and ability of the Bulgarian State to defend its own decisions, GERB-UDF Floor Leader Daniel Mitov said in a declaration on behalf of his Parliamentary Group. The declaration was prompted by Parliament's decision to temporarily allow the allied US forces to use Bulgaria's Bezmer Air Base.

Mitov, who has served as foreign minister between 2014 and 2017, said that several days ago, an official representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that the Bulgarian authorities should bear responsibility for the dangerous decision to deploy US aerial refuelling aircraft at Bulgarian military bases. Regardless of whether such wording is described as a warning, political pressure or a veiled threat, it cannot go without an institutional response, Mitov said. Following such a statement, the first reaction of a sovereign state should be an official diplomatic démarche, said Mitov.

According to Mitov, the Iranian Ambassador to Bulgaria should have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and asked to clearly explain whether the statements by Iranian representatives constituted a threat against Bulgaria, Bulgarian citizens, politicians or sites on Bulgarian territory. This is not a demonstration of force, but the minimum standard of state dignity, Mitov said. Instead, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister herself contacted her Iranian counterpart, he added.

According to the Foreign Ministry's official statement, the conversation began with assurances about the good relations, mutual trust and desire to develop bilateral dialogue. This was followed by assurances that no direct military action would be carried out from Bulgarian territory and that the National Assembly's decision in no way represented a change in Bulgaria's approach towards Iran. Presented in this sequence, the conversation inevitably creates an impression of diplomatic asymmetry, GERB-UDF said.

"Instead of Bulgaria first seeking explanations for the warnings that were issued, it has found itself in the position of having to justify its own decisions. This is precisely what creates an impression of weakness, regardless of the actual intentions of Bulgarian diplomacy," the declaration said.

When a state issues stern warnings to Bulgaria about consequences and then the Bulgarian Foreign Minister calls to assure it that Bulgaria has no hostile intentions, this inevitably leaves the impression that Iran's pressure has achieved its objective, Daniel Mitov stressed. Bulgaria has found itself in the position of having to explain its own decisions, while the other side continues publicly to insist that the National Assembly reconsider them, he continued. This is not the signal that a country that is a member of NATO and the European Union should be sending, the MP said.

"The proper diplomatic sequence would have been the opposite. First, an official protest against any ambiguous statement about retaliatory action against Bulgaria. Second, a demand that Iran explicitly state that it does not regard Bulgarian citizens, Bulgarian institutions or Bulgarian infrastructure as possible targets," GERB-UDF said. Only after that should there have been a political conversation between the foreign ministers aimed at reducing tensions and clearly presenting Bulgaria's position.

This would not constitute escalation; rather, it would mean that Bulgaria is engaging in dialogue calmly, from the position of a state that does not allow its sovereignty to be called into question, the former foreign minister said. Bulgaria should have sent an unequivocal message that it determines its own foreign policy and fulfils its allied commitments within the framework of its Constitution and the decisions of the National Assembly, Daniel Mitov said.

He said that Bulgaria's approach should be determined precisely by the conduct of the other side, including when it issues stern warnings to the Bulgarian State. The mistake was not speaking with Iran's Foreign Minister, Mitov said. The mistake was that, before that conversation, the Government failed to publicly defend the right of the Bulgarian State to make its own decisions; failed to lodge an official protest against the warnings of consequences; failed to seek guarantees for the security of Bulgarian citizens and its infrastructure; and failed to publicly respond to the most serious part of Iran's position, GERB-UDF said.