Georg Georgiev: Bulgarian Ship "Vezhen" Now Released
03 February 2025 News
"It is with the greatest pleasure that I confirm the news that the Bulgarian ship 'Vezhen', which was detained, has now been released. At 12:00 local time, it received permission to sail. The vessel and its crew are free." This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georg Georgiev, today, during an extraordinary briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Georg Georgiev further reported that the Swedish prosecutor's office has dismissed all suspicions of sabotage and intentional diversionary activity, and what is stated in the official press release is that the cable was severed due to complex weather conditions and technical reasons. "An end is put to what, in my opinion, was a defamatory rumour implicating the Bulgarian crew in any type of malice. No charges have been filed and no malice is mentioned," our Foreign Minister added.
Our top diplomat thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassador and employees at our overseas mission in Stockholm, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, as well as the Swedish side, which assisted the Bulgarian ship in sailing from Sweden on its route.
Minister Georgiev further emphasised that at no point were any claims made against Bulgaria in connection with this incident. He reminded that Bulgaria remains committed, together with its partners and allies, to counteracting any type of such hybrid attacks, adding that in this particular case, there was no such thing.
At the end of his statement, Georg Georgiev informed that, at the moment, there is no information about injured Bulgarians located in the earthquake-affected areas around the Greek island of Santorini. "We are in constant contact with the Bulgarians in Santorini. Contact has been established between our diplomatic missions, we are monitoring the situation, and guidelines have been issued for the behaviour of our fellow citizens there," Minister Georgiev announced.