Coalition Partners to Negotiate over Controversial Appointment

The Reformist Block (RB) is to seek talks with the leader of the Patriotic Front (PF) Valeri Simeonov in an attempt to resolve the issue with the appointment of the Deputy Minister of Defence Orhan Ismailov.

This was announced by the co-chairman of the RB Radan Kanev and Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev on national media on Sunday, reports dnevnik.bg.

Over the past week the appointment of Ismailov became a issue of contention between the two coalition partners after NFSB, one of the parties constituting the PF, demanded the appointment to be cancelled.

The Patriots claimed that it was unacceptable for the Freedom and Dignity People's Party (NPSD), one of the parties constituting the RB, which demonstrates its closeness to the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to be represented in the Bulgarian executive by a person such as Ismailov.

Co-chairman of the PF Valeri Simeonov gave an initial 24-hour, later changed to one-week deadline to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to dismiss Ismailov, threatening with withdrawing his support for the Cabinet.

In response, the leader of NPSD Korman Ismailov threatened to harden his party's position and even freeze its participation in the RB, thus becoming an opposition to the government.

In their statements on Sunday both Radan Kanev and Nikolay Nenchev pointed out that the appointment of Orhan Ismailov was not proposed by NPSD, and that he was never a member of this formation, nor any other political party.

The Defence Minister announced on the Bulgarian National Radion that he had a meeting scheduled with Simeonov on Monday, on which he was to ask for concrete facts and evidences in support of Ismailov's dismissal.

Nenchev was convinced that the whole aggression against Ismailov was because of his name, adding that he was to demand from the leader of NPSD for a document certifying that Ismailov was not a party member.

Radan Kanev announced on the Bulgarian National Television that a serious conversation was forthcoming, in which the two coalitions were to mutually demonstrate that they have made steps forward.

According to him, the Patriots should dismiss their xenophobic messages, while the Reformists have to prove that they are a modern political subject capable of uniting people despite their differences.

Kanev explained that in his conversations with NFSB he was assured on multiple occasions, that the call for Ismailov's dismissal was not based on xenophobic arguments.

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