President Nicolas Sarkozy was lauded in Bulgaria on Thursday for his efforts to secure the release of six medics from Libyan prison, REPORTED AP. Sarkozy had been due to visit with his wife, Cecelia, who also lobbied on the Bulgarian medics' behalf. The doctor and five nurses were sentenced to death in Libya on charges of deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV, but were released in July after intense international pressure, and were flown home on French presidential jet accompanied by the French first lady. Sarkozy was awarded Bulgaria's highest state honor _ the «Stara Planina» order _ for his help in having the medics freed, though he has also been criticized both at home and abroad for «hijacking» and then taking credit for a negotiation process that had been ongoing for taken years. President Georgi Parvanov praised Sarkozy's efforts at the final stage of the liberation of the medics. «A lot had already been achieved by the European Union, but the courage and the decisive actions by President Sarkozy and his wife, Cecilia, brought these efforts to a successful end,» Parvanov said at the ceremony. Sarkozy also was seeking to boost economic and military ties during the trip to Bulgaria, and was expected to secure a deal for four military Gowind corvettes. He planned to meet with Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and with the six medics.
