Bulgaria in Blockade in March

Prince Charles arrives 10 days after Putin

Driving in Bulgaria will be made especially difficult in March when the visits of Vladimir Putin and Prince Charles are planned.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin is going to be in Bulgaria from the 1st to the 3rd of March, and the Prince of Wales will arrive on the 13th. To protect the distinguished visitors, the capital and the cities which they will visit will be under a police blockade like the one during the visit of the Pope in May, 2002. This was decided yesterday on a meeting of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior Boiko Borissov, the director of the National Security Service Dimitar Vladimirov, and the head of the National Bureau of Investigation Dimo Gyaurov.

The special security measures for the guests will be further reinforced because of the eventual military conflict with Iraq. Supposedly, Charles and Putin will fly around the country, but because of the air corridor alternative forms of transportation are not excluded.

"We will strengthen the police presence at the sites of visit by Putin and Prince Charles," the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior General Boiko Borissov said, on whose initiative yesterday's meeting was held. The director of NSS General Vladimirov explained that they had already had discussions with the representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service and had checked the sites, which Putin will visit. "On the meeting, I informed the Ministry of Interior that on Monday we will start drawing scenarios on the different places. Tomorrow (note of the editor: today) the security guards of the Prince of Wales arrives and with them we will continue to secure Prince Charles' visit," added General Vladimirov.

The President has sent an invitation for an official visit, and it is being discussed, was the only comment from the press service of Georgi Parvanov.

According to different sources, Prince Charles will be in Bulgaria on the 13th and 14th of March. It is expected that during his visit the Prince of Wales will meet the Prime Minister Simeon Saxe Coburg-Gotha, with whose son Kiril the Prince is a friend. The information of the visit was confirmed by the British Embassy in Sofia. The initiative for the invitation comes from the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum and its Chairman Maxim Behar. Plans indicate that the Prince will visit Varna as well. The sea capital was a part of his program during his first visit also, but he didn't make it to Varna.