SOVIET PROTEST TO BULGARIA

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 298, 13 September 1941, Page 9

SOVIET PROTEST TO BULGARIA

Germans’ Military Preparations THREAT TO CAUCASUS

LONDON, September 11.

Russia has accused Bulgaria of preparing to join Germany in the attack against the Soviet Union, The Foreign Commissar, M. Molotov, sent a Note to the Bulgarian Minister in Moscow staging that the Soviet Union has more than once drawn the attention of the Bulgarian Government to the fact that the conduct of Bulgarian affairs does not conform, to that of a nonbelligerent, and it .has greatly deteriorated. ’ Bulgaria’s unfriendly attitude has increased since the German attack on Russia. Facts in Russia’s possession, the Note states, prove undeniably that Bulgaria has been transformed into a place d’armes for a military attack by Germany and her allies against the • and that Germany is using Bulgarian territory for attacks on Odessa, the Crimea and the Caucasus. German and Italian troops are concentrated in Bulgaria and their numbers are increasing. They are intended to be used for an attack against Soviet territory. The Bulgarian aerodromes are under the German authorities and German planes are concentrated’ on them, Varna and Burgas have been prepared as bases for German and Italian submarines, and Grand Admiral Raeder, who is in Bulgaria, and other members of the German naval staff are organizing a Black Sea fleet for operations against Russia. Planning to Join Invaders. The Note lists Bulgarian provocations, including the accusation in spite of Russian denials that Russian planes bombed Bulgarian territory, also an attempted shooting of the deputy Soviet Military Attache in Sofia on September 7, and the hostile campaign against the Soviet in the Semi-official Bulgarian Press. These facts, it says, prove that the Bulgarian Government not only is failing to maintain a loyal attitude to Russia, but is even encouraging provocative acts against her. This, and also measures which have been adopted by the repressive military regime in Bulgaria, prove that Bulgaria is preparing to join Germany in the attack against the Soviet. “Therefore the Soviet Union must inform Bulgaria that its attitude and actions are disloyal to the Soviet and are not those of a nation maintaining normal relations with Russia,” the Note concludes. “The Soviet Union is firmly convinced that this attitude is far from corresponding to the real interests of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people.”