Russian spy network actively operates in Bulgaria — EU Parliament advisor

Political advisor in the European Parliament Petar Tanev told this to the European Space program host Yurii Fizer on Espreso TV.

“Russian propaganda is very active in Bulgaria. There are real problems with disinformation coming from Russia and the Kremlin. It’s very difficult to fight this, because even now, the Rossotrudnichestvo office continues to operate in Sofia, our capital. That was a shock to me, as a large number of Russian agents are based there,” Tanev said.

The political advisor to the European Parliament also noted that he is continuing work on a project calling for the closure of all Rossotrudnichestvo offices in EU countries. These offices operate not only in Bulgaria but also in Belgium. Although the organization is under EU sanctions, this has had virtually no effect. In theory, no one is allowed to fund any programs connected to it, yet funding still reaches them through cooperation bureaus.

“When we sent an appeal to Ursula von der Leyen’s office, we were told that these offices are considered part of diplomatic structures. And according to the Vienna Convention, we can’t do anything about it. This falls solely under the competence of national governments, and they decide whether to close them or not.

But even here, problems arise. For example, Germany or Spain fear that if they take such actions, Russia might shut down the Cervantes Institute or the Goethe Institute.

But I don’t understand how anyone can even think about the Goethe or Cervantes Institutes right now, when there’s a war going on, when Russia is constantly trying to interfere in our political processes. Why should we even care what Moscow says when it comes to shutting down their diplomatic structures? It’s simply outrageous,” Tanev emphasized.

• Google deleted nearly 11,000 YouTube channels and other accounts linked to Chinese and Russian state-sponsored propaganda outlets.