Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry Turns Down Donation of Pacific Island

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected a proposal to acquire an island drifting across the Pacific Ocean.

It has described the 30 000 km territory, which is roughly the size of Belgium, as "movable property" and "an artificial floating object".

The ministry is referring to an idea of a Bulgarian businessman, with the initials V.B., who has the floating island in the Pacific within the assets of his Panama-based company Van Meppel, Inc.

In a letter to the President and to the Foreign Ministry, he proposed that the piece of land, which emerged out of the sea following a volcanic eruption two years ago, become Bulgarian territory.

Government officials say that, under article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea, an island "is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide."

Cold lava cannot be declared part of Bulgaria's territory, they note as quoted by Standart.

The anonymous millionaire, who has wished to have his name concealed out of security grounds, is already dubbed by some "the Bulgarian Richard Branson".

His initials match with those of the famous businessman and arts patron Vasil Bozhkov, but his personal PR official Borislav Petrov has denied Bozhkov could be behind the mysterious offer.