„The only purpose of the so-called „reform of the services“ is to subordinate them so that no one can learn about the government’s misdeeds and effectively resist.“
This is what President Rumen Radev told journalists in Karnobat. According to him, such actions, which are hidden behind noisy daily declarations and oaths of Euro-Atlantic devotion, distance Bulgaria from the EU and NATO and systematically destroy statehood. He also pointed out that people who photograph documents labeled „secret“ and distribute them, who willingly share sensitive information with foreign nationals and broadcast classified information, should be held accountable to the law, not to change it, especially in the area of national security. The Head of State called for more professionalism and a nationally responsible attitude towards national security.
„It is schizophrenic and politically ridiculous to cry every day about Schengen and the Eurozone and at the same time trumpet everywhere that “services are hacked” and “there are only spies everywhere,”, the President commented, adding that other countries also have their problems, but so far he has not heard a leader mention a word about their services.
„The lack of adequate public response to the recognized wrongdoings and self-interested actions of political leaders from the unfortunate record of compromising our national security and sovereignty, corrupting elections, privatizing statehood, encourages these political leaders today to attack key institutions and to rate the services at the level of their blatant incompetence and ignorance, and to insist on their replacement,“, Radev stressed.
Asked whether he would ask for the resignations of the heads of the services, he pointed out that „SANS is an important element of national security and is not a punchbag to be used by ignorant and ill-ambition politicians“. The agency is obliged to defend itself and thus also defend national security when it is attacked in the most brazen, outrageous and ignorant manner, the President said.
Asked about the expulsion of the three clerics from the country last week and whether it was worrying that the services of the Republic of North Macedonia had reacted before those in Bulgaria, Radev stressed that he had a deep ignorance of the nature of the work of the SANS. In his words, unmasking agents does not mean their immediate expulsion, but the actual operational work begins with it. When they are expelled, all efforts to uncover the truth, if any, agency network and activity fail, he specified.
„The government and the National Assembly should preserve and develop the defence capabilities of the Bulgarian army and not use it as a donor for foreign armies,“, the President further said when asked to comment on the draft decision supported today by the Defence Committee to provide additional military aid to Ukraine.
Responding to a question about Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, Radev said he expected the government to be much more active to catch up with the pace set by the caretaker government with the intensive work at different levels and areas.
„I have found some delay and that worries me,“, he added.
