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MP: There is no reason to talk about the mass desire of Ukrainian Bulgarians to leave the country
23:15 / 16.02.2015

ODESSA, FEBRUARY 16th, 2015, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE — President of the Association of Bulgarians of Ukraine, MP Anton Kisse believes that there is no reason to talk about the mass desire of Ukrainian Bulgarians to leave the country, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

Mr Kisse noted today, February 16, during a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov.

According to the information, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov had a meeting with the president of the Association of Bulgarians of Ukraine, MP Anton Kisse.

“Bulgaria will never lose sight of what happening in Ukraine, and the position of the Bulgarians is always important for us. Military conflict in the East of Ukraine makes us watch with great interest the developments and be ready at any time to protect the rights of our compatriots,” D. Mitov said during the meeting.

The Minister noted that Bulgaria uses all available mechanisms in this direction. Bulgaria is working actively on the level of bilateral relations with the Ukrainian authorities, and in the framework of relations with the EU. It also expects that the Ukrainian authorities will adhere to the principle of proportionality in relation to national minorities during mobilization. He also assured his guest that this position will be defended and the upcoming meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin.

For his part, A. Kisse on behalf of Bulgarians of Ukraine expressed his gratitude for the fact that in this difficult time, they feel the moral support of Bulgaria thanks to good contacts with both the Bulgarian Embassy in Kyiv, Consulate General in Odessa, as well as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A. Kisse called speculative allegations that representatives of the Bulgarian community in Ukraine support the actions of the separatists.

“Bulgarians in Ukraine are loyal citizens who live with successes and challenges of the country,” the leader of the Bulgarians in Ukraine said and stressed that there is no reason to talk about the mass desire Ukrainian Bulgarians to leave the country.

During the meeting, the minister informed the Ukrainian guest about the adopted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria measures to simplify the issuance of visas for Bulgarians in Ukraine, as well as preparing to send humanitarian aid to the areas most affected by the armed conflict.

The question of providing humanitarian assistance also was discussed during the meeting of Anton Kisse with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Katya Todorova and Chairman of the Bulgarian Red Cross Hristo Grigorov. The parties discussed the forms and routes of targeted humanitarian assistance through the Bulgarian Red Cross for the Bulgarian community living in war zones.

The first delivery, which includes food, medicines, bandages and etc., will be delivered to the Donbass in the near future. For the safety of humanitarian convoy on the territory of Ukraine Bulgaria intends to seek the assistance of the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian Red Cross.