Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Head of State has not refused to appoint Bulgarian ambassador in Kiev, press ofice said

Rumen Radev
Photo: EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria's president has not refused to appoint a new ambassador to Ukraine, Rumen Radev's press service said. 

There was a proposal from the Denkov-Gabriel cabinet for an ambassador to Ukraine in October 2023, which the president had approved, but the presidential registry never received a decision from the Council of Ministers to issue Radev's decree on his appointment, the release said. The proposed ambassador was not Nikolai Nenchev, whom the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev wanted to send to Kiev, the presidential press service clarified. President Radev is said to have rejected the appointment of Nikolai Nenchev to the post in the summer of 2023.

The presidency specifies that in October 2023, foreign minister Mariya Gabriel proposed that the mission in Kyiv be headed by Petar Tanev, who was an advisor in the embassy. A decision was taken by the Council of Ministers, but it was not sent to the presidency for a presidential decree to be issued, as required by procedure.

Nikolay Nenchev
"An answer to the question of why the procedure for appointing the candidate proposed by the Foreign Ministry as Bulgaria's ambassador to Ukraine has not been completed should be sought from the ministry," the press release said.

"The whole affair is very sad. It is a symptom of weak statehood in the most difficult period after the Second World War in terms of security and international order," former Defence Minister Velizar Shalamanov told BNR. According to him, in this case personal relations predominate and there is a sharp confrontation between institutions on fundamental issues. "It is very likely that the person proposed for this coordination has proved unacceptable to the Ukrainian side," Shalamanov suggested. 

Former defence minister Nikolay Nenchev will temporarily head the Bulgarian embassy in Ukraine. The decision was taken by the caretaker government to end more than a year of stalemate between the Council of Ministers and President Rumen Radev over sending a diplomat to Kiev. The Bulgarian embassy has officially been without an ambassador since April 2023, BTA reported.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

New parking lots with charging stations for electric vehicles open at Sofia Airport

New parking lots with over 1,000 parking spaces, including special areas for people with limited mobility and electric vehicle charging stations, were opened at Sofia Airport today.  The parking lots are divided into short-term and..

published on 11/26/24 3:30 PM

The European Public Prosecutor's Office has charged a Bulgarian citizen with attempted fraud with Chinese agricultural machinery

A Bulgarian businessman has been charged by the European Public Prosecutor's Office with attempted fraud with Chinese agricultural machinery. He tried to present the machinery as Bulgarian-made. A lawsuit has been filed in the Sofia..

published on 11/26/24 2:13 PM

GERB party say they will return the first mandate as soon as they receive it

Boyko Boris s ov, leader of the GERB-SDS coalition that won the parliamentary elections on October 27, announced he is withdrawing his candidacy for prime minister. At a briefing at the party headquarters he urged the PP-DB to..

published on 11/26/24 1:43 PM