Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa Attends Meeting with Odesa Regional Governor

Sofia, 19 dec. /BTA/. "I confirmed Bulgaria's military, humanitarian and technical support to the Ukrainian effort against the Russian aggression in a personal conversation with the head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration Oleh Kiper during the meeting with representatives of diplomatic missions in the region," Bulgarian Consul General to Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov told BTA.  

"And this is evident not only from the decision of the National Assembly for support, but also from the last visit of Defence Minister Todor Tagarev in August to Ukraine," our Consul General stressed. 
 
"The Bulgarian defence minister met his Ukrainian counterpart in Odesa. This meeting was also attended by Oleh Kiper," Svetoslav Ivanov added.  
  
The Bulgarian diplomat also informed Kipper that at the end of the year Bulgaria allocated funds to support Bulgarian NGOs registered under Ukrainian law. 
 
"These organizations are run by ethnic Bulgarians in Ukraine and have a Bulgarian identity. The aid granted by Bulgaria is mainly support for Bulgarian schools and is in the field of education," Svetoslav Ivanov said.  
  
According to him, the meeting of Kiper with representatives of diplomatic missions in Odesa Oblast was constructive. 
 
"Ukraine relies that the support of the EU Member States will continue next year", said Ivanov.  
  
The Bulgarian community in the Odesa Oblast is the third largest, numbering over 150,000 people according to the official census in Ukraine in 2001. The largest compact Bulgarian population is concentrated in the Bolhrad, Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi regions.