"Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria": Opening of a Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Varna is a Threat to National Security

“Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria” (DSB) have issued a statement regarding a request for the opening of a Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Varna.

“We have received information that the Russian Federation, through a diplomatic note sent by its embassy in Sofia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has requested permission – under the formal pretext of a ‘reciprocity procedure’ – to open a Consulate General in Varna. The plan is for it to be located in a business building at the intersection of Dunav Street and Kozloduy Street, just 200 metres from the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy.

According to DSB, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has forwarded the request for an opinion to the State Agency for National Security, but the process is being suspiciously delayed, creating a risk of so-called ‘tacit consent’.

"We believe that this request represents a blatant attempt to hostilely position an operational base next to a strategic military site of the NATO collective security system and it should not be allowed. It should be recalled that the Russian consulate in Varna was closed in October 2023, after the government of Kiril Petkov expelled 70 Russian diplomats and staff the previous year for activities directly threatening national security. At that time, the consulates in Varna and Ruse were left without personnel, and diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorated severely.

Today, in the context of the ongoing bloody aggression against Ukraine, with Bulgaria designated by the Kremlin as a ‘hostile state’ and with repeated proven attempts by Russian special services to use diplomatic cover for espionage and hybrid warfare, the return of such a structure – particularly in the immediate vicinity of a key NATO forces base – constitutes a direct threat to the security of the state and our allies.”

The party urged “the government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to immediately and categorically reject this request. This is required for the protection of our national security as well as our commitments to our allies within the Alliance. Any other decision in this case would amount to political capitulation to a hostile power and a direct threat to the defensive capability of Bulgaria and NATO in the Black Sea region.”