Bulgaria

Bulgaria has appeared in Russian news outlet Vedomosti's list of states where certain people "concentrate political power and basic economoic assets".

Other countries mentioned as part of studies by several scholars include Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, Burma, and Venezuela.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister has told Macedonian Deputy PM Fatmir Besimi his country hopes to find the right formula of a neighborhood agreement with Skopje.

After receiving Besimi in Sofia, he has noted discussions on the agreement have brought about "positive" messages.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has it clear that Bulgaria is adhering to its EU commitments and it complying with the Third Energy Package, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

Bulgaria proved in 2015 that it is defending its national interest in spite of "activization of terrorist activity, increased migratory pressure and hybrid influence of third countries", Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said Thursday.

His comment was a clear reference to the notion of "hybrid war" which some Bulgarian politicians accuse Russia of waging in Eastern Europe.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has warned it would take BGN 40-50 M (EUR 20-25 M) to hold new snap elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told journalists he was perplexed to witness the "gutless" position of the Bulgarian government which in his words "ignored national interest".

Developments relating to the judicial reform in Bulgaria and a project to build a gas hub were on the agenda of a meeting of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

The number of migrants rescued off Turkey's west coast after failed attempts to reach European countries by the Aegean Sea has risen by 70 percent over the past five years, the state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Bulgaria is identified as the "EU's death capital" in a recent article of AFP, which examines the problems of the country's medical system.

Despite the large-scale investments in healthcare and having the most hospitals per capita in the EU, Bulgaria has retained the highest mortality rate in the EU for nearly a decade.

Bulgarian police have detained 34 foreign nationals, all of them males, who have illegally crossed the border from Turkey, bTV reported on Thursday.