Foreign Minister Velislava Petrovа
Bulgaria asked for a Russian sports minister and a Russian bank to be excluded from European Union sanctions lists but ultimately withdrew its objections to allow the bloc to reach consensus, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said in Parliament.
Petrova was responding to parliamentary questions from MPs about Bulgaria's role in EU sanctions decisions against Russia. She said Sofia had raised concerns over the proposed sanctions against Mikhail Degtyarev, Russia's sports minister and chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee.
"Bulgaria raised a consideration regarding the imposition of restrictive measures on Mikhail Vladimirovich Degtyarev," Petrova said. She explained that Bulgaria's arguments included the lack of a specific contribution by Degtyarev to Russia's military actions against Ukraine and the view that sanctioning him would not help bring the war to an end.
Bulgaria also expressed reservations about adding Togliattikhimbank to the EU sanctions list. Petrova said the bank is a regional commercial lender owned by Togliattiazot, one of the world's largest ammonia producers and part of the Uralchem group.
