United States ambassador to Bulgaria James Warlick has spoken of the decision to withdraw the visa of Roumen Petkov, saying it was done because Petkov was under criminal investigation. Warlick appeared on the morning talk show of private television channel bTV on December 2 2010.

Warlick said that the reason the visa was revoked had nothing to do with the GERB ruling party or ongoing domestic policies. Instead, the relevant issue was the "ongoing criminal investigation, which concerns Roumen Petkov, and as a consequence, he knows very well why his visa was revoked," Warlick said.

"He was summoned to the embassy and was told why his visa was withdrawn. He is not eligible for a visa under US law," Warlick said.

At the end of November, Petkov, Bulgaria's former Interior Minister and a high-ranking member of the socialist party, relinquished his MPs immunity and will subsequently be investigated by authorities for his conduct while minister.

Petkov said in Parliament that he had sent a report to Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev, in which he demanded that the authorities investigate allegations that he allegedly participated in drugs crimes.

Regarding the international hurricane caused by the ongoing disclosure of files and email in WikiLeaks, Warlick said that the US is not concerned with collecting biometric data from Bulgarian citizens. He said that there was no "specific directive" from the US government ordering such data to be collected in the first place.

And regarding the WikiLeaks files, Warlick emphasised that if anything, those revelations only confirmed the healthy relationship between Bulgaria and the US.

"From these files, you will find that we have tight co-operation with the Bulgarian authorities. Telegrams don't usually consist of two sentences; they are comprehensive reports," he said.

"People should pay attention to the big story and the entire report, and not focus on a selective phrase," he added.

Warlick added, however, that the publication of such sensitive information was a criminal act because it has put many people in the US and elsewhere in danger, and therefore it must be prosecuted.