Bulgarian Parliament Divided over FM's Visit to Ukraine

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin's trip to Ukraine on Tuesday has sparked controversy among MPs.

Lawmakers from the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) expressed shock at his visit, claiming they did not understand whether it was Bulgaria's position or his own stance on the Ukrainian crisis that he was representing.

The DPS's Yanko Yankov, Defense Parliament Committee Chair and member of the Foreign Affairs Parliament Committee, explained that Vigenin's meetings with members of the new leadership in Kiev confirmed their legitimacy as recognized by Bulgaria, the website Dnevnik.bg reports.

Yankov said that, prior to such moves by the diplomacy, Bulgaria's national position must be stated and this is a task that Foreign Ministry cannot unilaterally perform.

Russia has a monopoly on the energy market and we have accords and dependencies regarding Russia that we should take into consideration, Yankov added.

Strahil Angelov, a socialist MP who caused outrage in both parliament and society with a trip to meet Syria's leadership allegedly unauthorized by the BSP, also condemned Vigenin's visit on the grounds that it could have serious repercussions for Bulgaria.

He expressed his concern over the fact that through Vigenin's actions, Bulgaria had taken action in areas where "bigger and stronger states than ours keep silent".

Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov and May 25 presidential election candidate Vitali Klitschko were among the prominent politicians Vigenin met during his stay in Ukraine.

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