Bulgaria is keen to provide hospitality for direct talks between the two, aimed at establishing a Palestinian state and achieving lasting peace in the region, diplomats confirmed following the visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres to Sofia last Wednesday. However, the EU country would not act as an intermediary, a source added.
In Sofia, Peres said Bulgaria was a very good location for talks with the Palestinians, which have been on hold since the Cast Lead operation in December 2008 and January 2009 (EurActiv 19/01/09).
''Bulgaria is a [...] very good location for us and the Palestinians to meet. I cannot think of, I cannot imagine a better place, so romantic, that it represents an invitation in itself,'' Peres is quoted on the website of the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov as saying.
Last month, the president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, visited Sofia. Asked by the press whether the short time span between the two visits was a coincidence or a sign of Bulgaria's more active involvement in the Middle East peace process, Peres joked that this was not a coincidence, but rather a mistake in that the visits did not take place simultaneously.
Bulgaria has excellent relations with both Israel and the Palestinians. During World War II, the EU newcomer was the only one of Germany's allies that managed to save its entire 48,000-strong Jewish population from deportation to concentration camps and extermination. Despite pressure from Hitler, its parliament, the Orthodox Church, intellectuals and citizens opposed the deportations.
Later, in the sixties and seventies, thousands of Palestinians received asylum in Bulgaria, enrolled in schools and universities and married in the country. As a result, a sizeable proportion of the Palestinian elite speak Bulgarian.
Peres, who received the Order Stara Planina - the highest state award - from his Bulgarian host Parvanov, said it was not Israeli practice to award distinctions but such an award would be merited for the entire Bulgarian nation.
Bulgarians, at the risk of their own lives, did not bow to Nazi pressure and their refusal to do so desrved the highest distinction of honour that humanity can bestow, Peres reportedly said.
Press agencies reported on Friday that according to a letter by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, Palestinian President Abbas was very close to agreeing to direct talks with Israel.
Abbas "has requested a few more days for final consultations with Arab partners as well as with the Fatah and PLO executive bodies,'' Ashton said, and "should be in a position to give a definitive answer by Sunday or early next week".
According to reports in Arabic newspapers, Abbas could give his answer today (16 August). Another report from Palestinian news agency Ma'an says that Abbas is waiting for an anticipated statement from the Quartet, set to be released early next week, before announcing any decision on talks.
