Top Bulgarian Socialist Blasts US Ambassador in Open Letter to Obama

Ivelin Nikolov, a top-tier official of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, vented exasperation at the overall behavior of US ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick, choosing the form of a self-styled open letter to US President Barack Obama published in Bulgarian daily Duma Thursday.

In the short text Nikolov, who is editor-in-chief of Duma, expresses disaffection with the US ambassador's ways of commenting on Bulgarian political life and of voicing strong positive and negative opinions on various domestic issues.

Nikolov claims that Warlick, among other things, “proclaims who is a criminal and who is not, without taking into consideration the courts.” The socialist further points out that the American ambassador “interrogates ministers on what they do and on the negotiations they are having with third countries” and moreover gives advice to regular Bulgarians on what their views should be.

Nikolov characterizes this behavior on the part of the US diplomat as “systematic”, “demonstrative” and thus “troubling” in view of the fact that Bulgaria is an independent nation.

The Bulgarian socialist choses to wonder whether that was the mission which President Obama entrusted to the US envoy, suggesting that Warlick's actions might be eroding the image of the USA amongst Bulgarians.

The open letter closes by pointing out Bulgaria's strong commitment as a “loyal and predictable partner in NATO” and expectation for reciprocal respect.