Bulgarian Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov, commenting on his inclusion in the Russian Foreign Ministry’s list of “Russophobes,” called for restraint in responding to Kremlin provocations.
The Bulgarian minister said this in a comment to the BGNES portal. According to Zapryanov, Bulgaria distinguishes between “its attitude towards the Russian people and the Russian state, and its attitude towards the policies pursued by the current Russian leadership.”
“If defending international law and condemning… waging wars of conquest is Russophobia, then I do not consider the 143 countries that condemned Russian aggression at the UN General Assembly to be Russophobes,” Zapryanov said.
The head of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense added that Bulgaria should not respond to provocations from the Kremlin.
In addition to Zapryanov, Russia classified former Defense Minister Todor Tagarev, former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, and former interim head of government Dimitar Glavchev as “Russophobes.”
In the context of the publication of the list of “Russophobes,” the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Italian Foreign Ministry. Rome officially protested the inclusion of the Italian President Sergio Mattarella and other Italian officials on the list.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, after being included in the list of “Russophobes” compiled by the Russian Foreign Ministry, said he considered it an insult.
