“Russia and Bulgaria are no longer forever brothers, ” Russia’s Independent newspaper reported on the 29th that, following the Czech Republic, the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office announced on the 28th that it wanted six Russian citizens on suspicion of involvement in a number of bombings in Bulgarian weapons factories and military warehouses, three of whom were charged with the attempted murder of Bulgarian arms dealer Gebrev. The Russian Foreign Minister categorically denied the Bulgarian allegations.
Bulgaria’s arms and ammunition factories and storage facilities have exploded several times in the past 10 years, the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday, according to Russia’s Independent newspaper. Investigators found similarities in four of the explosions, some of which were stored in warehouses supplying arms and ammunition to Georgia and Ukraine. To this end, Bulgaria has made similar allegations against Russia to the Czech Republic and is gathering evidence on the links between Russian citizens and the explosion of ammunition depots. Bulgaria’s prosecutor’s office spokesman, Mireva, said the evidence gathered so far largely points to the conclusion that “Russian citizens are acting to prevent the supply of (weapons) to Georgia and Ukraine,” Deutsche Welle reported. Mileva said the country is in contact with the Czech side to investigate the matter.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on Bulgaria’s allegations on the 28th: “Fortunately, we have not yet been charged with the killing of Grand Dude Ferdinand (the first world war began in 1914 when Grand Duo Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was killed), but it seems to be moving towards this.” Lavrov also expressed dissatisfaction with Bulgaria’s decision to allow private companies to keep weapons, saying that the situation is related to the involvement of private entrepreneurs in the arms trade, the stockpiling of weapons and ammunition, and that the EU should explain to the international community why it violates the international arms trade agreement. Following the announcement by the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, the “EMCO” company owned by arms dealer Gebrev quickly denied that its ammunition was intended to be exported to Georgia, accusing the prosecutor’s office of distorting the facts, Russia’s Opinion newspaper reported Tuesday.
The Bulgarian charges against Russia are the beginning of “a big political game controlled by Washington,” according to Miretkov, director of the Bulgarian Institute of Eurasian Geopolitics and Economics. “I think the real cause of the explosions in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria was improper storage of old ammunition … and the fact that they were not stored properly,” Milletkov said. Some European countries are using this old story to make new accusations against Russia for political purposes. According to The Independent, the Czech and Bulgarian allegations against Russia are linked to the upcoming general elections in the country, with the aim of deflecting internal tensions.
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry declared a Russian diplomat an undesirable person on the same day, AFP reported Tuesday. At the same time, Bulgaria will request the full assistance of Russian law enforcement agencies in investigating incidents such as the explosion of the arsenal and bringing the perpetrators to justice. The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria issued a statement saying that the actions of the Bulgarian authorities are groundless and not conducive to constructive dialogue between the Russians and that russia reserves the right to take reiquisive measures.
The European Parliament on the 28th on the EU-Russia relations around the situation on the Ukrainian border, Russian opposition figures Navalny and the Czech arms depot bombing three issues to discuss. A draft resolution published by the European Parliament suggests that Russia should be excluded from the SWIFT payment system in the event of Russian aggression in Ukraine, and that the EU should immediately stop importing oil and gas from Russia. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “Russia has the basis to replace SWIFT, I believe that the government and central bank will do their utmost to ensure its reliability, to ensure its complete independence and to prevent someone from trying to inflict additional losses on us.” ”
