Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov, once again reassured the country’s population about his administration’s determination to fight corruption and uphold the rule of law.
To achieve the target, PM Petkov met with US Department of State Sanctions Coordinator Jim O’Brien, yesterday where both the dignitaries held discussions on the matter.
“We discussed that Russia is using corruption as an instrument for influence, including for national gas diversification efforts”, the Prime Minister cited.
He also met with the National Security Advisor to President Biden, Jake Sullivan and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, prior to Munich Security Conference (MSC).
Prime Minister Petkov asserted, “Bulgaria is genuinely committed to working towards economic stability and energy independence and will continue dialogue with the United States of America for energy diversification. Thank you for the strong support for the Bulgarian government’s steps towards the rule of law and juridical reforms”.
Meanwhile, Sullivan cited that the United States stands in solidarity with Bulgaria against Russia’s decision to stop gas supply to the country, while condemning Russia for using energy as a weapon.
Apart from this, he also expressed support for the Bulgarian government in its battle against corruption and focused on the rule of law and anti-corruption reforms.
Both the officials further held talks on ways to promote stability as well as prosperity among the Western Balkans.
https://twitter.com/KirilPetkov/status/1523787267277434880
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister assured Bulgarians to eradicate corruption from the country. As per government sources, the Bulgarian prime minister is continuously keeping track of improvements in the matter.
The previous month, the European Union raised the alarm and initiated a corruption probe in the Balkan state, following which the former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, along with other Cabinet ministers, were detained for frauding funds but were later released due to lack of evidence against them.