The reasons for past western suspicions about this country's involvement in terrorism were related not only to the shooting of The Pope; they were nurtured by Sofia's status of the most faithful of Soviet allies and Bulgaria's close co-operation with radical Arab states and third world revolutionary movements.
Razlozi za nekadašnje sumnje Zapada o umešanosti Bugarske u terorističke aktivnosti nisu izvirali samo iz pokušaja ubistva Pape; sumnju je pothranjivao status Sofije kao najvernijeg od sovjetskih saveznika i bliska saradnja Bugarske sa radikalnim arapskim državama i revolucionarnim pokretima Trećeg sveta.