Within half a year, the USA should have a developed strategy regarding the Black Sea region, which will also provide a basis for relations with Bulgaria, it became clear from a statement by the ambassador of Bulgaria in Washington, Georgi Panayotov.
“In the American Congress, a bill was introduced by both parties – both Democratic and Republican – this bill concerns security in the Black Sea. It provides massive support and assistance to all countries that have a coastline on the Black Sea. One of them is Bulgaria,” Panayotov pointed out in an interview with NovaNews.
According to him, it is not only about the modernization of the armed forces, but also about building the infrastructure, guaranteeing energy security, deepening the commercial and economic relations between the USA and Bulgaria and the other Black Sea countries, as well as strengthening the democratic institutions in the country and for the fight against corruption.
“In this document – it is not just wishful thinking and philosophical reflections, everything is spelled out very clearly – with responsibilities, with deadlines,” Panayotov emphasized. “These are the goals, half a year after the adoption of the bill, the administration will take care to spell out the details in detail”, added the ambassador.
The expulsion of our diplomats from Russia on the first day from the office, Georgi Panayotov commented as follows: “The sign is that Russia protects its interests as it sees them and as it understands them. Mrs. Mitrofanova is doing her job, whatever she was told to do by the Kremlin. How we react to all that is happening, that is more important.”
For him, after the expulsion of Russian diplomats from our country, Russia’s reaction is “normal reciprocal actions”. “I wonder why they didn’t do it sooner. But they did it anyway, with which perhaps they want to show us that it doesn’t really matter to them which government is in Sofia. For them, we are an enemy country,” Panayotov pointed out.
He also commented on the gas issue, stressing that he is not an expert and will speak with facts. “The first fact is that the largest producer of gas in the world is the United States. It is not Russia as many people think. In addition, Europe’s biggest gas importer is now the US, not Russia. Households in the US pay 6 times less for gas than households in Europe do for the gas that comes through the pipes from Russia. This does not mean that American gas reaches Bulgaria or Europe at a six times lower price. These are the facts, there are enough experts in Bulgaria, I hope they act smartly, correctly, because only one large ship with LNG can ensure the heating of 140,000 households. I have informed you of the facts, and the decision of what to do is up to the Bulgarian government”, said Ambassador Georgi Panayotov.
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