Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin told Israel’s ambassador to Sofia that his government’s position on the Burgas attack that killed five Israeli tourists in July 2012 has not changed, explicitely rejecting media reports suggesting that Bulgaria had reassessed its declaration that the Iran-backed terror group was involved in the attack.
A Bulgarian bus driver was also killed in the attack.
In a meeting with Israel’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, Shaul Kamisa-Raz, Vigenin told the Israeli diplomat that his government’s position on the Burgas attack has not changed.
“We place high value on the support of Israel for the development of our potential to combat terrorism. We have no choice but to cooperate for the sake of the security of the citizens of both countries,” Vigenin told Ambassador Shaul Kamisa-Raz during the meeting.
Last week, the Bulgarian press reported that the new Foreign Minister in the Socialist-led government, said there was only an “indication” that Hezbollah was behind the attack.
“It is important that the (EU) decision be based not only on the bombing in Burgas because I think the evidence we have is not explicit,” Vigenin said last week, in a reference to a request by Britain to put Hezbollah on the EU terror list.
But in a subsequent interview with Bulgaria’s Standart newspaper, Vigenin sought to underline that his government had not changed its position.
“Regarding the ongoing consultations whether the armed wing of Hezbollah should be put on the list of terrorist organizations, Bulgaria will share the stand reached by all EU members. So, regardless of some speculations of the media, Bulgaria has not reconsidered its stand on Hezbollah,” he said.
Ireland is reportedly blocking efforts by Britain –backed by France and Germany -to secure the blacklisting, effectively preventing the EU from acknowledging that a group which commits terrorist acts against EU citizens on EU soil is in fact a terrorist organization.
EU officials have indicated that the combination of the Bulgarian investigation and the conviction of a confessed Hezbollah member by a Cypriot court “changed the equation.”