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Anti-Russian sanctions

Bulgaria’s Ataka party to initiate gvt resignation if it supports EU sanctions against RF

SOFIA, April 01. /ITAR-TASS/. Bulgaria’s Ataka party will initiate the resignation of the government in case it supports extra sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, Ventsislav Lykov, a member of the Bulgarian parliament, told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

“If the current government supports additional sanctions, we shall demand its resignation,” he said, adding that his country should be more resolute and independent in defending its own interests.

Earlier, the party’s leader, Volen Siderov, voiced a similar position. “The United States’ geopolitical interests are pushing Europe in the wrong direction,” he told Itar-Tass. “I am confident of that and I think it is high time for the European Union to begin its sovereign movement in accordance with European interests, but not to try to please colleagues from the United States. In this sense, the sanctions the European Union’s lobbyists are pressing through are a big mistake. To my mind, Bulgaria’s National Assembly must pass a decision not to take part in these sanctions, to speak up against them. Bulgaria should express this position clearly, it should not hide behind Brussels.”

“Now, we are the only party in Bulgaria that has such a position, both in and off the parliament. The rest, let us say, hold on to pro-European, anti-Bulgarian, as a matter of fact, positions,” Siderov stressed. “As a patriotic party, we say that this policy is harmful to Bulgaria and our leaders must understand this. The European Union is not barracks, where one is supposed to strictly fulfill orders. The European Union is a commonwealth of states possessing equal rights. At least, this is what is stated in its documents and Bulgaria has the right to have its own opinion. We are ready to defend this right of the Bulgarian people.”

Over the past several weeks, the Ataka parliamentary party has been actively raising its voice against imposing sanctions on Russia. During a brief working visit to Sofia by U.S. Assistant State Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs on Monday, the party organized pickets in front of the buildings of the Bulgarian government and the presidential administration urging to veto European Union’s sanctions.

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