Bulgaria's ruling coalition split on Kosovo

Reports from Sofia say that the three parties in Bulgaria's ruling coalition do not have a common position on Kosovo. The executive bodies of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) met separately during the day to discuss the issue, but neither party committed itself to a position on the issue. Bulgaria's ruling coalition split on Kosovo The ethnic Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is yet to make public its position on the issue, amid fears that Kosovo's declaration could serve as a precedent for the areas in south-eastern Bulgaria, where ethnic Turks are a majority of the population. Despite Socialist Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin saying last week he would recommend that the Government "established relations" with Kosovo, BSP is yet to put the issue up for debate in Parliament and is not expected to do so before mid-March, top Socialist politicians told Dnevnik daily. NMSP has also avoided taking an unambiguous position, although party leader and former prime minister Simeon Saxe-Cobourg said that Bulgaria should not sour its relationship with Serbia by recognizing Kosovo. Solomon Passi, who was foreign minister in Saxe-Cobourg's cabinet, has demanded immediate recognition of Kosovo and opening a Bulgarian embassy in Pristina, but that was his personal opinion and not NMSP's, sources in the party said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. The party was in favor of further talks on the issue, but did not subscribe to BSP's point of view that the ruling coalition should come out with a joint position, spokesman Stanimir Ilchev said, as quoted by mediapool.bg. Sofia's hand in the matter, however, could be tipped on February 27, when the city hosts a meeting of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe regional table, which will be attended by Serbia's foreign minister Vuk Jeremic. With hours left before the start of the one-day event, it was unclear whether it would be attended by any representatives from Kosovo. "There are certain delicate moments, related to protocol, concerning the forthcoming meeting. We are doing everything possible to solve them," Kalfin told reporters on February 25, quoted by Focus news agency. Around two thirds of respondents in a survey by pollsters National Centre for Public Opinion Research, quoted by Dnevnik daily, did not have a clear understanding of Bulgaria's position on Kosovo. While the Government dithered on its stance, opposition parties have come out with unequivocal statements, but while rightist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) tabled a motion in Parliament asking for the province's independence to be recognized, and its leader and former prime minister Ivan Kostov urged the cabinet to take a more active role in building up Kosovo institutions, which, he argued, the European Union was interested in doing. Nationalist Ataka party, however, filed their own motion, asking the Parliament to condemn Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia.

Bulgaria's ruling coalition split on Kosovo

The ethnic Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is yet to make public its position on the issue, amid fears that Kosovo's declaration could serve as a precedent for the areas in south-eastern Bulgaria, where ethnic Turks are a majority of the population.

Despite Socialist Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin saying last week he would recommend that the Government "established relations" with Kosovo, BSP is yet to put the issue up for debate in Parliament and is not expected to do so before mid-March, top Socialist politicians told Dnevnik daily.

NMSP has also avoided taking an unambiguous position, although party leader and former prime minister Simeon Saxe-Cobourg said that Bulgaria should not sour its relationship with Serbia by recognizing Kosovo.

Solomon Passi, who was foreign minister in Saxe-Cobourg's cabinet, has demanded immediate recognition of Kosovo and opening a Bulgarian embassy in Priština, but that was his personal opinion and not NMSP's, sources in the party said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The party was in favor of further talks on the issue, but did not subscribe to BSP's point of view that the ruling coalition should come out with a joint position, spokesman Stanimir Ilchev said, as quoted by mediapool.bg.

Sofia's hand in the matter, however, could be tipped on February 27, when the city hosts a meeting of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe regional table, which will be attended by Serbia's foreign minister Vuk Jeremić.

With hours left before the start of the one-day event, it was unclear whether it would be attended by any representatives from Kosovo.

"There are certain delicate moments, related to protocol, concerning the forthcoming meeting. We are doing everything possible to solve them," Kalfin told reporters on February 25, quoted by Focus news agency.

Around two thirds of respondents in a survey by pollsters National Centre for Public Opinion Research, quoted by Dnevnik daily, did not have a clear understanding of Bulgaria's position on Kosovo.

While the Government dithered on its stance, opposition parties have come out with unequivocal statements, but while rightist Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB) tabled a motion in Parliament asking for the province's independence to be recognized, and its leader and former prime minister Ivan Kostov urged the cabinet to take a more active role in building up Kosovo institutions, which, he argued, the European Union was interested in doing.

Nationalist Ataka party, however, filed their own motion, asking the Parliament to condemn Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia.