Bulgarian Prime Minister Petkov: There will be no 'state security' agents in government

Sofia [Bulgaria], December 22 (ANI/Novinite): I thank our colleagues from "There Is Such a People" and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for taking swift measures and people with files of a past in 'State Security' that have been announced in the media will not be appointed or will be released if they have already been appointed. This was stated today by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in response to a journalist's question about the possible appointments of people in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who turn out to be connected with State Security structures.
According to the coalition agreement, each minister has the right to propose his team, but then in a coalition format we discuss and decide together whether our requirements for these people coincide with these proposals, Petkov commented and stressed that in this case there are no people to be appointed.
According to the Prime Minister, the appointments are made on the basis of some type of expertise, then additional information is obtained and the final decision is made. There will be no compromise in this case, the prime minister stressed.
Petkov also disagreed with the statement of his former chief of staff and current Minister of Defense Stefan Yanev, who said yesterday that it is not necessary to deploy additional NATO troops in our country.
"This topic has not been discussed at the Council of Ministers, nor has it been discussed with any of our partners. The reports on this topic were the personal opinion of the Minister, but this is by no means a formal position of our government," he said.
He recalled that he had already declared that "we are and will be an active member of the EU and NATO".
"This type of decision will be coordinated with our active role. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that we truly believe that the best way to continue EU and NATO policy on our eastern border is to maximize the use of diplomacy and peace funds ", pointed out Kiril Petkov.
"I hope there will be expert analysis, to see the pros and cons, to talk to our partners. The less the focus is on military potential and the more on diplomatic potential, the better for Bulgaria," he added. (ANI/Novinite)