Ex-president tries to nudge Bulgaria onto pro-Russian path

The former Bulgarian president Georgi Parvanov defended, following his reelection as the leader of the leftist ABV party, a reapproximation of his country to Russia.

His party, altough small in terms of votes, became a key partner in the four-way coalition government rulling in Bulgaria as of May 2015. Mr Parvanov emerged as the strongest pro-Russian voice and set himself to push his traditionally Russophile country off its pro-Western course.

His latest move had been to urge centre-right prime minister Boiko Borisov to replace ministers who had backed positions of the European Union and NATO on Russia and the cancellation of Russian energy projects in Bulgaria.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Russia’s borders: old ties pull Bulgaria in two directions http://www.europeansources.info/record/russias-borders-old-ties-pull-bulgaria-in-two-directions/

ESO: Background information: In the Kremlin's Grip: Fears Grow Over Bulgaria's Russian Dependence http://www.europeansources.info/record/in-the-kremlins-grip-fears-grow-over-bulgarias-russian-dependence/

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