Caretaker Foreign Minister: Main priority of MoFA will be the organisation of the early general elections

A main priority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be the organisation of the early general elections, said caretaker minister Nikolai Milkov, who presented his team today, August 8.

Milkov will have two deputies - Velislava Petrova and Kostadin Kodzhabashev. Petrova was also deputy minister in the regular cabinet. Kodzhabashev, until now, held the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Ukraine.

Every Thursday, the Foreign Ministry team will give regular briefings to report on its work, Minister Nikolai Milkov declared at the beginning. Deputy Minister Kodzhabashev will also be the ministry's spokesman who will lead the briefings.

The caretaker minister's team has several goals:

• The organisation of the upcoming general elections (scheduled for October 2);
• Bulgaria's active participation in the EU and NATO;
• Bulgaria's accession to the euro zone and the Schengen area;
• Bulgaria's accession to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development;
• European integration of the Western Balkans, building on the achievements of the Republic of North Macedonia;

The holding of the elections abroad could also be organised in Russia, as the staffing in our two diplomatic missions Bulgaria has there is sufficient.

"The problem would rather be with the consular services for Bulgarian and Russian citizens. We have a plan to reinforce the staff at the expense of seconded people, which we are looking for in Bulgaria. This can continue until more permanent solutions are found. I cannot comment on whether it is an attempt to influence the elections in Bulgaria. More restraint would not hurt - talking to them in terms of their interests. We in Bulgaria are very sensitive to someone from the outside influencing the electoral process and it should not be allowed," Minister Milkov said.

BGN 7,635,000 is earmarked for the elections abroad, said Ivan Kondov, permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry.

"We are counting again on Bulgarians abroad to help organise the elections. We expect about 800 polling stations. In the previous elections, the polling stations abroad were 750. There was a record number of voters, he said.

On the subject of North Macedonia's bid for EU membership, the caretaker foreign minister praised the government of Kiril Petkov for the work done. He also rejected the allegations of revanchism on the part of the caretaker government and gave the example that Velislava Petrova remained in the post of deputy foreign minister.