Bulgaria Foreign Minister Jeleva: No Grounds to Recall Bulgarian UK Ambassador

Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, Rumiana Jeleva, dismissed demands for the recall of Ambassador to the UK Lyubomir Kyuchukov. Photo by BGNES

There are no grounds at the moment for recalling Lyubomir Kyuchukov, the Bulgarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to Rumiana Jeleva, the Foreign Affairs Minister.

Earlier on Friday, Ivan Kostov, leader of the Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), had stated that he expected the Bulgarian government to propose the dismissal not only of the Ambassadors to Turkey and the US but also that of the Ambassador to the UK.

Kostov, Co-Chair of the Blue Coalition, had added his support to the allegations originally made by the conservative “Order, Law and Justice” Party (RZS).

After the elections on July 5, when RZS presented the Prosecutor's Office with warnings about parliamentary election irregularities, the party put the blame directly on Kyuchukov, who, as the then Deputy Foreign Minister, was responsible for the organization of the vote abroad.

“As a punishment, the President is sending him to be an Ambassador, and what is more, to London and not to some African state,” commented the RZS party leader, Yane Yanev.

Jeleva stated that it was necessary to examine the entire sequence of events very carefully, and that it was not so easy to declare “this one is guilty”.

She pointed out that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is watching closely for professional irregularities and of the special law on diplomatic service, and that the Ministry is not using the case for political purposes.

“For a few days now, things have become very improper, in the sense that now the services have also been involved and there are leaks of information that should not be permitted,” observed Rumiana Jeleva.