Kristian Vigenin

It is not in Bulgaria's interest to stand firmly behind EU sanctions against Russia, according to the Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin.

"At the moment Bulgaria has no alternative for deliveries of gas. Whatever stance we take from here on (regarding Russia), we must keep this in mind", Vigenin told Darik Radio.

Bilateral relations between Bulgaria and the State of Israel have deepened over the past years, according to Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin.

"Our friendship lies on deep historic roots, which we are now further developing for the people of our nations", Vigenin commented.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin welcomed the country's honorary consuls from around the world for a conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the first part of his opening address, Minister Vigenin outlined the priorities of Bulgaria's foreign policy.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is due to meet his Bulgarian Counterpart Kristian Vigenin on Thursday.

The two are to hold talks as part of Lieberman’s official visit to Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.

Bulgaria will be among the countries wost affected by EU sanctions against Russia, according to Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin.

In a Friday interview for the morning broadcast of TV7, he insisted that the European Union and Russia had to make another serious attempt to return to the negotiating table.

From Euractiv

The Bulgarian foreign minister, Kristian Vigenin, has been instructed by his ruling Socialist party “not to haste with harsh measures” against Russia following the Crimea referendum, as EU ministers gather in Brussels in an attempt to impose sanctions on Moscow.

Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin has reiterated Bulgaria's support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Speaking Friday in Parliament, he noted that Bulgaria backed the efforts to find a peaceful solution of the crisis in compliance with the principles of international law.

Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin’s trip to Ukraine on Tuesday has sparked controversy among MPs, with MPs from the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms expressing shock.

The MPs said they did not understand whether it was Bulgaria’s position or his own stance on the Ukrainian crisis that the minister was representing.

The Bulgarian government is dissatisfied with Ukraine's decision to cancel the recognition of Bulgarian language as regional language.

Earlier this week Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada canceled the State Language Policy Act, which was granting the status of “regional language” to the language of minority groups who make up more than 10% of the residents in an area.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin and his Macedonian counterpart, Nikola Poposki, have sent a joint letter to EU seeking aid for joint infrastructure projects.