Bulgaria accused the Russian envoy of meddling in internal affairs

As we previously reported, Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian ambassador, recently stated who she would support if she were a citizen of Bulgaria. The interim administration responded by claiming that her remarks were an attempt to meddle in the nation’s internal affairs.

The final interview with Mitrofanova was broadcast on the Martin Karbovski YouTube channel on April 19. The ambassador was asked who she would support if she were a citizen of Bulgaria.

“I would probably vote ‘I don’t support anyone” or for Kostadinov if I were a Bulgarian voter, but I’m aware of politics, I’m aware of what’s happening, and so on,” said Mitrofanova. The Bulgarian Electoral Code includes the phrase “I do not support anyone” which allows voters to say they do not intend to support any particular candidate or party.

The statement made by Ambassador Mitrofanova on a matter of internal Bulgarian politics is unacceptable, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry. Her remarks may be in conflict with the Vienna Agreement, which establishes diplomatic decorum, the administration has also warned.

At the Bulgarian national holiday on March 3 of this year, Mitrofanova linked the liberation of Bulgaria by the Russian Empire’s armies to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was the latest in a string of scandals that have dogged her in Bulgaria. In the wars for Bulgaria’s freedom, ethnic Ukrainians, Poles, Finns, and Bulgarians took part.

The Russian embassy in Sofia declared the beginning of a fundraising campaign in June 2022 in support of the Russian army that had invaded Ukraine. To donate money for “assistance to the military, participating in the special operation to protect the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” a request was posted on the diplomatic mission’s Facebook page.

The Russian embassy in Bulgaria has the greatest impact on society when compared to all other foreign diplomatic missions in the Balkan countries, according to a report released on March 30 by the powerful Bulgarian think tank Centre for the Study of Democracy.