Bulgaria Didn't Formally Blame Hezbollah for Burgas Terror - Analyst

The Bulgarian government has not made a formal statement implicating Hezbollah for the 2012 Burgas bus bombing, according to leading Bulgarian Middle East expert Vladimir Chukov.

"First of all, it is essential to point out that there is no official position of the Bulgarian Presidency, which is an official institution of the Republic of Bulgaria on this issue," said Chukov in a special interview for Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).

According to the analyst, the fact that the government has stressed that investigation is still going on means that there is no conclusive evidence in the case.

Chukov moreover added that the exact formulation by Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov referred to "Hezbollah's military wing" and not to Hezbollah itself.

Israel and the US have interpreted the Tuesday statement by Tsvetanov as definitively attributing responsibility to Hezbollah.

The two countries had quickly thrown the blame for the July 18, 2012 attack on Hezbollah, and has greeted Bulgaria's Tuesday implication of the Lebanon-based organization.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has released a statement stressing on the need for further reflection on the outcome of the investigation, which is not yet completed.

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