The Russian ambassador in Sofia, Eleonora Mitrofanova, has acknowledged that she does not know the reasons why the Russian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for prominent Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev.
Mitrofanova went to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry headquarters on Thursday after being summoned last Tuesday by the Sofia authorities seeking explanations for the persecution of Grozev, known for his investigative work.
On her way out of the Bulgarian diplomatic headquarters, Mitrofanova informed that the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry «will request information» from the Russian side on this case, and defended that Moscow is not persecuting the journalist.
«As for the search for Christo Grozev in Russia, it does not mean that we are looking for him all over the world. This is important to understand. Where he lives, he will live, nothing threatens him. What we tell him is not to return (to Russia),» Mitrofanova clarified, as reported by BNT national television.
Following this, Grozev himself has launched a post on his social networks to criticize that the Russian ambassador herself does not know the reasons why Moscow is after him. «So, they want to (catch) me to tell me that they don’t want to (catch) me?» he added.
Grozev, who specializes in investigative work, was included in the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list on charges of «violating an article of the Russian Criminal Code,» predictably one related to alleged defamation of the Armed Forces’ work in the framework of the war in Ukraine.
BULGARIAN LANGUAGE IN OCCUPIED UKRAINIAN REGIONS On the other hand, the Bulgarian authorities had summoned Mitrofanova to reproach her for the decision taken by Moscow to ban the use of the Bulgarian language in the Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in September: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporiyia and Kherson.
The Russian diplomatic representative assured that up to 79 languages are studied in Russian schools, but that although Russia «encourages the study of foreign languages», in these regions «there are no Bulgarian language teachers».
Regarding the removal of portraits of Bulgarian historical figures in these four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine, Mitrofanova noted that this is the work of «idiots.» «I am responsible for the state policy, not for the actions of some idiots who did something like this,» she has settled.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
