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

The meeting of Presidents Rumen Radev and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in Sofia, September 13, 2024

President Radev explains the absence of the Macedonian flag at his meeting with the president of North Macedonia

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev described his meeting with the President of the Republic of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, which took place on Friday, September 13 , in Sofia, as constructive and frank in a friendly atmosphere...

published on 9/16/24 2:21 PM

Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev: The first day of school is a significant date for all Bulgarians

For all of Bulgaria, the first school day is a significant date and it can be said that it is one of the biggest holidays in this country. With these words, Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev addressed teachers, students and parents at the..

published on 9/16/24 1:13 PM

President Rumen Radev urges school children to be the authors of their own future

At the start of the school, year at school No. 128 Albert Einstein in Sofia, President Rumen Radev urged the school children to be “the genuine authors” of “their own tomorrow”. Education Minister Galin Tsokov greets students, teachers and..

published on 9/16/24 11:41 AM