Russian Ambassador: Bulgaria is Not a Target for Russia
“Bulgaria is not a target for Russia because there are no strategic weapons on its territory.” This was stated by the Ambassador of Russia Her Excellency Eleonora Mitrofanova on Nova TV.
She stressed that any military bases that threaten Russian security are already targets.
“If military bases and strategic weapons are located in Bulgaria, then you would become a target. There are none. You are not a target and your government is not speaking harshly,” said Ambassador Mitrofanova.
She stressed that no one in Russia would say that Bulgaria is an enemy. According to her, we must adhere to this positive point of view.
“I do not accept the image of Russia as an aggressor,” the Russian ambassador said. She recalled that her country was severely damaged during World War II, losing more than 27 million people. “We will never be the first to start any war,” she added.
Ambassador Mitrofanova stressed that Russia's natural gas supplies could only be stopped if a full-scale war breaks out and the entire gas infrastructure is destroyed. However, she does not allow such a pessimistic scenario.
“Russia has always been a reliable foreign trade supplier of natural gas. Europe is punishing itself by not launching the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. For Russia, this is not a crisis situation, we will redirect our flows to the East. This is a problem for Europe. The Americans are not reliable partners in the supply of liquefied natural gas, and it is much more expensive than Russian pipeline gas,” said Ambassador Mitrofanova, adding that Gazprom has always responded to Bulgaria's requests.
Regarding the sanctions that the West is threatening Russia with, she believes that their introduction will be a big blow to the entire world economy and advised to think twice before making such a decision.
Ambassador Mitrofanova said that the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Bulgaria, as the proposals are considered at the moment, will not solve any issues.
She commented on the escalation of tensions and information that the country was preparing to invade Ukraine.
“The direct question is related to the hysteria in the media that Russia has gathered strength and is sneaking into Ukraine in secret ways. The Ukrainian president has already said he sees no threat, the secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine believes there is no danger. However, the United States and Britain, especially NATO, are arming Ukraine heavily, handing over deadly weapons - something that is extremely unsafe in the future,” she said. According to Mitrofanova, someone is trying to provoke, if not war, then some military action, after which there may be “very serious sanctions.”
“Russia considers unacceptable even the idea of war with Ukraine. I would like to explain to the citizens of Bulgaria that this is not about Ukraine at all. It is about building a European security system. Ukraine is being used as a pretext to strain the situation, and if you look at the history - both you and the Europeans know very well that Ukraine and Georgia were a red line for the Russian Federation, followed by this response,” she said.
“It is important to ask the main question - what is Ukraine for us? Why should we start a war against Ukraine? What's the point? What tasks will we solve with this war? We do not solve any tasks. Ukraine is our neighbor. We must live peacefully with them. What do I think can happen today? There may be some kind of provocation. Provocation against the Donetsk and Luhansk republics“, added Mitrofanova.
“We are against Ukraine's membership in a bloc hostile to Russia. That is why this is a demonstration of force to calm down those who would like to provoke something in Ukraine,” she added.
/BGNES