Bulgaria Struggles to Accommodate Syrian Refugees – President

Commenting on the situation in Syria, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has admitted that the country is experiencing difficulties with the provision of adequate accommodation facilities for a large group or even wave of refugees.

In a Monday statement at the inauguration of the new academic year at the Military Academy "Georgi Sava Rakovski", Plevneliev said that the Security Council at the Prime Minister's Office had been summoned to find a solution to the problem.

Plevneliev noted that he was ready to convoke the Consultative Council for National Security but he was waiting for the right time to do this.

"You can see that the number of people seeking to cross the Bulgarian border per 24 hours has doubled and tripled and this trend can very easily escalate into even larger numbers of people," Bulgaria's head of state explained.

Plevneliev emphasized that the issue was to be handled by the executive.

"I welcome the decisions adopted by the Security Council at the Prime Minister's Office and I hope that they will bring good results," he added.

He went on to say that the stance of the Bulgarian President on Syria had been clear from the first day of the escalation of the conflict.

Plevneliev underscored his satisfaction and pride with the fact that the stances presented by President Obama and President Hollande, as well as a number of other European leaders, at a slightly later stage, matched with Bulgarian views despite the fact that there had been no prior agreement about that.

"Firstly, a crime against humanity has been committed and the guilty parties must be named and penalized. Secondly, the matter requires public debate because it is not just a regional crisis taking place two hours away by plane from Bulgaria, but it can also escalate into a global crisis," he declared, adding that the situation required debates in Parliament during which all important considerations were to be reviewed.

Plevneliev emphasized the important role of parliamentary committees in charge of coordinating and overseeing the activities of the different ministries.

Bulgaria's President reiterated his full support for the stance of global leaders like Obama, who had called on Congress to debate and vote on the decision to take military action against Syria, at the same time stressing the importance of the nation standing up for certain values.

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