Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev will meet President Georgi Purvanov on June 23 2008 at 4pm, the Government's press service said.

The statement did not say what would be the subject of conversation between the two of them. The meeting, however, comes a week after Purvanov gave two interviews for Bulgarian media on the subject of Stanishev's policies.

In the first interview on June 12, with Trud daily, Purvanov criticised Stanishev for appointing some of his advisers to the management boards of major state-owned companies and how Bulgaria handled its fight against organised crime and corruption.

In the second interview, for private broadcaster bTV on June 17, Purvanov expressed his full support for Stansihev as prime minister.

The only response from Stanishev was that he had made the appointments because his advisers served as his “eyes and ears”. Stanishev avoided all-out attacks against Purvanov, calling the President “one of the most prominent Bulgarian statesmen, with great experience”.

Stanishev also said he did not have a chance to talk to Purvanov recently, but added they kept each other informed on a regular basis.

All this led to Bulgarian media speculation about a conflict between Purvanov and Stanishev.

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