Ships have not stopped sailing to the ports of Varna and Burgas, and Bulgarian shipping is not at risk, prime minister Rumen Radev said in Tvarditsa.
He told reporters at the ground-breaking for a battery park that will store electricity. Radev rejected claims that merchant ship traffic in the Black Sea has stopped.
At his request, the Ministry of Transport and Communications drew up a report. It compares the period from the start of October to yesterday with the same periods in September and last year. The data show 30 more ships passed through the two ports than a year earlier. Traffic is at the same level as last month.
"Let those who are stirring up hysteria calm down," Radev said. He promised that ships working for the country's economy will keep sailing. To keep shipping to Burgas and Varna safe, the government is working with allies and using diplomacy, the prime minister said.
Earlier, transport and communications minister Georgi Peev said ship traffic in Varna and Burgas did not fall during the month of fighting. He said the effects of the fighting, and of strikes near Bulgaria, will stay under watch.
The cabinet is looking for a way to let grain farmers export their crops, Peev said. Moving grain by rail is under discussion, and other steps are being worked out.