Bulgaria Foreign Ministry: Somali Pirate Negotiations Continue

The Asian Glory was hijacked on January 2, almost 1 000 kms off the coast of Somalia. The British-flagged car carrier has a crew of 25, including ten Ukrainians, eight Bulgarians, five Indians, and two Romanians. Photo by media.shipspotting.com

The Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Ministry has revealed that negotiations are continuing for the release of the Bulgarian sailors kidnapped by Somali pirates in early January.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Vesela Cherneva, said Tuesday that negoatiations with the pirates are continuing but she refused to comment further.

A total of 13 Bulgarian sailors are being held on board "The Asian Glory" and the “St James Park” off the Somali coast.

Cherneva also stated that there were no Bulgarian casualties in the Moscow metro terrorist attacks Monday; “Thank god, there were no Bulgarians among the killed or injured.”

Regarding the US backed missile defense shield Cherneva revealed that no bilateral talks had been held on the subject and that it will be discussed at a NATO meeting at the end of April. She also added that Serbia has no intentions of having Russian bases on its territory.

Cherneva concluded by saying that Bulgaria does not aim to be included in the missile shield because of any perceived threat from Iran; "Do not focus on Iran. The Middle East region is potentially a place for weapons of mass destruction. True that Iran has a nuclear program, but this is the only country on which we can apply diplomatic efforts. In others this is impossible because most threats come from anonymous organizations and groups."

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