"To join the European Union in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania signed documents attesting that they had no outstanding mutual territorial claims. Since then, Romania obviously has sought a quick solution to a problem that it did not put on the table as a territorial claim.”

President Rosen Plevneliev said this in reaction to the Romanian foreign minister speaking to the media about a “territorial claim” in Bulgaria.

“The Romanian foreign minister is not talking about a territorial claim, but about unresolved issue involving 17 square kilometers in the Black Sea. But, as Head of State, I want to be clear – these problems, which have existed for 20 years, first, are not a territorial demand, and second, cannot be resolved by arm-twisting and interviews in TV studios. There is a format, an inter-governmental committee, which will certainly complete its task,” President Plevneliev said.

He said that the reaction of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting an explanation from the Romanian ambassador in Sofia, had been timely.

"I am certain that the Bulgarian state is taking appropriate, prompt action. We are good neighbours with Romania and I hope that this will be borne out by event in cases of the kind that arises at the moment,” President Plevneliev said.