Bulgaria Cancels Visit of Sanction Hit State Duma Speaker

April 30, 2014

Bulgaria has enforced EU sanctions against State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin by canceling his planned visit to the country, its Foreign Ministry said.

Naryshkin, who was set to visit Bulgaria from May 6-8, was one of the Russians hit by EU sanctions in March for "threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

As a member of the EU since 2007, Bulgaria is obliged to implement the European decision, its Foreign Ministry said Tuesday in an online statement.

Russia has dismissed the Bulgarian statement, claiming that Naryshkin's visit was postponed by "mutual agreement," Interfax reported.

Yury Shuvalov, the head of the Duma department for public relations and interaction with mass media, said Russia was "saddened" by Bulgaria's position but that it would not disrupt bilateral cooperation, including in the inter-parliamentary field.

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