Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova
Bulgaria has never officially been a member of the international "Coalition of the Willing," Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said in a written reply to a parliamentary question, according to a response published on the National Assembly's website.
The clarification came after Democratic Bulgaria lawmaker Atanas Slavov asked when and on what legal basis Bulgaria had decided to withdraw from the coalition, and whether the government had assessed the impact such a move could have on the country's strategic national interests.
In her response, Petrova said the premise of the question was incorrect because Bulgaria had never formally joined the coalition in the first place.
According to the foreign minister, there is no decision by either the Council of Ministers, including previous governments, or the National Assembly approving Bulgaria's participation in the informal international grouping. "Bulgaria has never been officially part of the 'Coalition of the Willing'," Petrova stated.
