site.btaUPDATED Government Has Asked Security Services about Crimea Bridge Blast Truck, Spokesperson Says

The Bulgarian government has demanded information from the security services about the truck which is believed to have been used in the bombing of the Crimea bridge, government spokesman Anton Koutev told BTA Monday. The matter is being checked by the State Agency for National Security and the Interior Ministry, and the results are expected, he added.

Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, was reported saying last week that a truck suspected in the bombing had been to Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, and Russia's North Ossetia region and Krasnodar, among other places. The Russian authorities put the blame for the attack squarely on Kyiv.

European Commission Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said the statements of the Russian authorities investigating the Crimea bridge blast are not to be trusted. He was speaking during a press briefing where he took a question about the information from Moscow and the mention of Bulgaria and several other countries which were allegedly on the truck's itinerary. There are so many things coming out of Moscow and the so called 'official places', which don’t really merit any commentary, said Stano. "Let me recall that Crimea is Ukraine. The Kerch bridge is an illegal structure building a connection between Ukrainian territory and Russian mainland, without any approval and authorization by Ukrainian authorities. We have no way to see or know what happened on the bridge on Saturday, that led to the blast. You know how it is with the credibility of any statements on the so called investigations in Russia. I wouldn't give the slightest bit of credibility to what they are saying."

Earlier on Monday, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) top leadership - the Executive Bureau - circulated a position asking President Rumen Radev "to give a clear answer" about why Bulgaria is mentioned in information on the Crimea bridge blast. In it, BSP urge the President to ask the Bulgarian investigative services to examine the case with the truck, that left for Crimea from the coastal city of Burgas.

"Against the backdrop of the escalating confrontation, a fast and clear message must be sent, to make sure Bulgaria is not involved in the conflict in any way," said the Socialist leadership.

A comment also came from GERB leader Boyko Borissov, who ruled out a Bulgarian connection in the bridge blast. "We cannot talk about a Bulgarian connection. If I were in the Russian services, I would want to know where the truck was loaded - not where it started the trip," Borissov told reporters.

Continue the Change reacted with a video posted on Facebook by co-leader Kiril Petkov, who says: "We don't agree with instilling fear and panic by the Kremlin and bringing Bulgaria's name into these events related to the Crimean [Kerch] bridge. We call on the Bulgarian security services and the caretaker government to immediately check the matter and reject the Kremlin's insinuations about a Bulgarian connection with this event. Time is of importance," said Petkov.