Elena Poptodorova

Even after the recent spy scandals the response of the Bulgarian authorities remains evasive and shy. The expulsion of a Russian diplomat is a standard reaction and Elena Poptodorova is still waiting for follow-up move of the Foreign Ministry and the government.

Former Bulgarian Ambassador Elena Poptodorova on Monday sent a statement to Bulgarian media outlets saying she had not been prepared for the "disinformation scandal" her name got involved into last week.

Former Bulgarian Ambassador to the US Elena Poptodorova has resigned as head of the American Jewish Committee's office in Warsaw, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Elena Poptodorova, who on Tuesday was detained at the airport in Warsaw with unpaid cosmetics from a duty-free shop, denied having stolen the goods.

The Bulgarian News Agency quotes Poptodorova as saying she had received a call from her sick mother and went out of the shop to accept it there with the cosmetics in her hands.

The former Bulgarian Ambassador to the United States has been detained at the airport in Warsaw for stealing cosmetics in a duty-free shop, according to Russian agency RIA Novosti.

Citing Polish radio EMF, the agency reports the goods concerned were worth the equivalent of nearly USD 400.

As the parties in Bulgaria's parliament struggle in vain to form a new government, President Rosen Plevneliev may face the task of having to appoint a third caretaker government in his five-year-mandate.

Plevneliev's task could be far more complicated this time, however, as his mandate is about to expire. He is due to hand over office to President-elect Rumen Radev on January 22.

Bulgaria's government has proposed to appoint Tihomir Stoychev as the country's new ambassador to the United States.

The proposal to Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev to issue a decree for Stoychev's appointment is posted on the government website.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev's Foreign Policy Secretary, Tihomir Stoychev, will be next Bulgarian envoy to the United States, 24 Chasa ("24 Hours") daily reports.