/ world today news/ Former Prime Minister Simeon of Saxe-Coburggotsky has made a humiliating deal with his former bodyguard and current Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, agreeing to conduct “crown diplomacy” in favor of the government in exchange for settling his property issue, “Voices” has learned. Part of the deal is the inclusion of Saxe-Coburg in the government delegation that leaves today for Saudi Arabia. The former monarch was “harnessed” to mediate a meeting between Borissov and Saudi King Alman ibn Abdulaziz al-Saud.
Borisov’s official meeting with the king is scheduled for Wednesday. The prime minister will be introduced to the Saudi monarch by Simeon of Saxe-Coburg, who is a sort of “crowned” guarantor of his former bodyguard.
Saudi Arabia is a particularly important intermediary for the export of Bulgarian weapons to the countries of the Middle East and, in particular, to Syria. According to official data, the arms exported to Saudi Arabia in 2016 were worth nearly 239 million euros – three times more than in the previous year, 2015.
The sharp increase is explained by the supply of weapons to terrorist groups in Syria. In an interview with Labor, Col. Malik al-Kurdi, a commander in the Free Syrian Army, designated as an ally of the West against the Bashar al-Assad regime, claimed that Saudi Arabia, along with the services of 15 other countries, were supplying the jihadists with weapons under the pretext of that they help the moderate opposition. An investigation by the journalist Dilyana Gaitandjieva in 2016 showed that Bulgarian weapons from the Sopot military base fell into the hands of the jihadists in Syria via Saudi Arabia. Formally, the weapon was purchased by two American companies – Chemring and its subsidiary Chemring Ordinance, and Orbital ATK, but through a triangular operation through the Saudi kingdom, it ended up in jihadist warehouses. The Bulgarian government washed their hands of not being responsible for the subsequent movement of the weapon.
Footage from Dilyana Gaitanjieva’s investigation into the trafficking of Bulgarian arms to the jihadists in Syria.
In any case, the case shed light on the schemes by which Bulgarian weapons are exported to Syria.
It is no coincidence that during Borisov’s visit to the Saudi kingdom, he is accompanied by the Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov, as well as the foreign minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, who will have special meetings with their colleagues in Riyadh.
Another confidant of Borisov – the eternally blue arranger Dimitar Abadjiev, has been proposed by the government to head our diplomatic mission in Riyadh, which will be opened during the visit.
Abadjiev is currently the ambassador to Slovenia, where he was appointed just two years ago, but now the government is proposing his urgent relocation to Saudi Arabia, given the strategic importance of our relationship of trust with the kingdom. Before that, the former sedesar and costologist was the consul general of Bulgaria in Shanghai, and from 2010 to 2013 he was appointed to the sinecure position – representative of Bulgaria in the management of the project company for the defunct Nabucco gas pipeline – Nabucco Gas Pipeline International. According to diplomatic regulations, Abadjiev should return to Sofia for at least two years before being sent to a new diplomatic post abroad, but apparently Borisov’s confidant enjoys a special status.
All this shows that our “special” relationship with Saudi Arabia will continue in the future, and the money flows between the two countries will need special patronage.
Here comes the delicate role of Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Goth, who has to give a luster to the “commercial traveler” Borisov and show him his monarchical connections.
Before that, Saxe-Coburg-Gothic was included in the composition of the so-called Council of the European Presidency – a body with unclear functions, in which the likes of Rosen Plevneliev and Herman Van Rompuy were brought in to ensure the publicity coverage of the event. Apparently, here too, the role of the former king will be to harness his personal contacts in favor of his former bodyguard.
It is not by chance that recently Saxe-Coburg Gotsky has intensified his presence in the media, never ceasing to shower, albeit restrained, compliments on Borisov. It got to the point that in an interview with “Panorama” the former prime minister described the rise of his body city as a “positive evolution”. His words may have been the product of a great sense of humor, but they caused a stir.
What will the Majesty get in return for the humiliating servitude? Just a few days ago, Sega wrote that the state is about to give up its claims to the king’s properties, and a special staff has been created in the Ministry of Justice to resolve the case with the king’s properties. The existence of such a working group for the voluntary settlement of the property dispute was confirmed by the former Minister of Justice in the Saxe-Coburg-Gothian Cabinet, Miglena Tacheva, who currently heads the National Institute of Justice.
“The state is ready to come to an agreement with the former Prime Minister Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gothic, not only on the cases here regarding his properties, but also on his four claims against Bulgaria filed in Strasbourg,” the publication claims.
In the four cases led by Saxe-Coburg Gotsky, the decision of the Bulgarian court to return the residences “Tsarska Bistritsa”, “Krichim”, “Sitnyakovo” and “Sargol” to the state is contested.
According to lawyers, Saxe-Coburg has every chance to condemn the state in the European Court of Human Rights. Years ago, Strasbourg awarded 13 million euros to the former Greek King Constantine again because of a property case. Constantine’s claim was for 560 million euros – the valuation of land, buildings and properties.
So far, it is not clear how exactly the former monarch will be “rewarded” for his diplomatic efforts. According to lawyers, there are two possibilities: either he will receive compensation from the state in exchange for a waiver of his claims before the European Court, or he will receive a lifetime right to use the palaces he now lives in.
However the 15-year-old case is resolved, it risks severely tarnishing the luster of the royal crown. And the political operetta “Tsar and General” will have a highly comic ending.
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