Radev-Budanov meeting: Borissov alleges secrecy, Iotova says she was not invited
The GERB leader says neither the security services nor the president knew of the visit. Foreign Minister Petrova says her ministry was not involved in organizing it.
Archive image · Photo: www.deribacourt.com (as written in the properties) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
The unofficial visit to Sofia by Kyrylo Budanov, chief of staff to Ukraine's president, continued to stir political controversy on Saturday. GERB leader Boyko Borissov told farmers in Silistra, at a meeting streamed on Facebook, that Budanov's talks with Prime Minister Rumen Radev were so secret that neither the security services nor the president knew about them. He called the National Security Consultative Council, convened on Oct. 7 after attacks on two merchant ships, a disgrace.
Earlier on Saturday, President Iliana Iotova said she had received neither a request nor an invitation to meet Budanov and had not spoken to him. Budanov was in Bulgaria on Thursday; the visit became public on Friday.
Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova declined on BNT to discuss what was said, noting that only those present could do so and that her ministry had not been involved in organizing the meeting. Not announcing the time and place of such visits is not unusual given heightened security for Ukrainian officials, she said, adding that what matters is that there is dialogue.