The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed surprise at the personal position by US Senators Bob Menendez and Jim Risch who state, in a joint statement that "persistent corruption, declining media freedom, politicization of the judiciary, and other threats to the rule of law pose serious challenges to the U.S.-Bulgaria bilateral relationship".

According to Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry this opinion is not the position of the US Senate and does not reflect the level of bilateral relations.

“We have been assured by the US embassy in Sofia and by the US state Department in Washington that this statement is not binding for the government of the USA which would not want to influence the election campaign in this country in any way,” the Foreign Ministry position reads.