The relations between Bulgaria and the US have become hostage to the actions of Bulgaria's ambassador to Washington Georgi Panayotov, who has been making blunder after blunder for over two years.
After the election of Donald Trump as president, more and more voices are heard in Bulgaria and the US about the competence of the Bulgarian ambassador and his ability to conduct public policy, BGNES reported.
In interviews with BTV and Nova, viewers were shocked to see how Bulgarian Ambassador to the US Georgi Panayotov, taking on the role of a political analyst and investigator, willingly commented on the accusations against 45th US President Donald Trump. In the interviews Panayotov completely ignored the fact that at that moment Trump was already the official candidate of the Republican Party and could be president again. During his interviews, Panayotov also took on the role of prosecutor, laying out the potential of the investigations and the implications for Donald Trump. The Bulgarian diplomat's attitude towards the newly elected US president can also be judged by the lack of an official congratulatory message from the Bulgarian embassy in Washington to Donald Trump's headquarters after his election on 5 November. In July Panayotov did not attend the Republican conference where Trump's candidacy was officially accepted, while international media informed that more than 20 European ambassadors were there.
After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July, Panayotov made the comment, "I am informed from the phone, Biden and Trump are different, but they are the same"
Panayotov became notorious in the public domain by sleeping through the introduction of a resolution declaring September as Macedonian Heritage Month, and his excuse was that he was on vacation. At the time, experts commented that the lack of basic knowledge of national security and interests led to grave mistakes bordering on crimes on the part of the Bulgarian ambassador to the US, Georgi Panayotov, who allowed the consideration of an anti-Bulgarian document in the US Senate. Slavi Trifonov, the leader of "There is such a nation", described the ambassador's inaction as "an expensive paid tourist who should be sent on permanent leave immediately". According to information from diplomatic circles, Panayotov responded cynically to the accusations of incompetence, saying that relations between Bulgaria and the US were stronger than ever and he himself was the reason for that.
Bulgarians across the ocean are still looking for the reasons for Panayotov's lack of any initiative to resolve the most important issues for them, such as the lack of a social agreement on the recognition of work experience and the fall of visas to the US. The social agreement is particularly important for our emigration, as it will enable Bulgarians to retire earlier, using their seniority from Bulgaria. In two years Panayotov has not held a single meeting on this issue, which has forced the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in Bulgaria to alert the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking the ambassador to do his job.
Panayotov also became famous for lighting the Frederick Douglass Bridge in Washington in the colors of the Russian flag on March 3. The Russian connection has accompanied Panayotov's career constantly. Although in the public space Panayotov declares himself a convinced Euro-Atlantic and liberal, in Bulgaria and the US his words cause doubts. The reason for this is that in 1989-1994 Panayotov completed his higher education in Moscow on a state scholarship.
Panayotov made history as the first ambassador to the United States to participate in a podcast called "Talk in Our Own Way". In this appearance, Panayotov explained his graduation in Moscow by the lack of another opportunity where he could continue his education. To the young hosts of the emigrant podcast, accidentally or not, Panayotov failed to mention that the democratic changes in Bulgaria began precisely at the end of 1989, when thousands of our compatriots emigrated to the West, not to Moscow.
Georgi Panayotov's brother, Todor Panayotov, was exposed by the Commission on Files as a collaborator of the State Security under the pseudonym "Drinov". After the changes, Todor Panayotov offered himself as a casual collaborator to the Regional District of the Ministry of the Interior in Burgas. Today Todor Panayotov is the owner of a hotel complex in Pomorie.
Panayotov has successfully taken advantage of the lack of political stability in Bulgaria to continue as ambassador, despite constant gaffes, and it is only a matter of time before his actions negatively affect relations with the United States. I BGNES
