MOSCOW, October 18. /TASS/. Moscow sees contradictions between a report passed by the Bulgarian parliament, which declares Russia a threat, and the government’s intention to boost bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"It is regrettable that Bulgaria’s parliament in the end passed a report submitted by the government, dubbed "On the state of the national security of the Republic of Bulgaria in 2016," which declares Russia one of the threats for the country," the statement reads. "The wording used in the report runs counter to the intention voiced by Boyko Borisov’s government to boost trade, economic, energy, cultural and humanitarian cooperation with Russia," the Foreign Ministry noted.
The statement added that the report had been adopted by a very narrow margin, with most of the votes provided by the ruling party. "Declaring our country a threat is not in line with the Bulgarian people’s position, as according to a recent poll, 85% of Bulgarians do not believe that Russia’s policies pose any threat to their country," the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out. "Where did such wording come from? If it was used upon instructions by western counterparts, then it seems that they are trying to disrupt mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Bulgaria," the ministry said.
"At the same time, it is surprising how such documents based on open hatred against Russia, are passed by the parliament, as almost half of its members (116 out of 240) are also members of the Group for Friendship with Russia," the statement says. "It seems the group’s membership does not mean that all the lawmakers have a pragmatic attitude towards our country. In particular, the group’s co-chairman K. Velchev, who represents the ruling party, voted in favor of the report. We would like to ask him: are you afraid of us?" the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
"Russia has a different view on friendship. We believe that friends should be true to each other," the ministry stressed.