Stoyanov: Replacing Interior Ministry Secretary General was all my decision

"The decision to replace the Secretary General of the Interior Ministry was all mine," Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said on NOVA Saturday morning. This happened in the first days after Stoyanov took office. He added that Continue the Change Co-leader Kiril Petkov had had a meeting with him, but personnel changes at the Ministry were not discussed then.

The Secretary General of the Interior Ministry is Bulgaria's highest ranking law enforcement professional.

Stoyanov was adamant that, contrary to what former Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev and outgoing Secretary General Petar Todorov claim, the changes at the Interior Ministry are not a political purge. He said that he did not know about a meeting of Petkov, GERB leader Boyko Borissov and Petkov's father - Petko Petkov - with Alexey Petrov, nor about a role of the murdered controversial businessman in the formation of the current cabinet.

"Many leads to Petrov's murder are being followed, such as revenge related to his past or unsettled financial relations. A politically motivated assassination has not been ruled out. There is no direct suspect yet, nor is it clear who contracted the murder," the Interior Minister said.