Bulgarian PM confirms Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is to visit
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov confirmed on July 6 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to visit Bulgaria.
Two days earlier, Bulgarian-language media reports, citing diplomatic sources, said that it was expected that Zelenskyy would visit on July 6.
The invitation is at the invitation of Bulgaria’s new pro-Western government, that took office on June 6, and not President Roumen Radev.
Denkov said that he had called Radev and told him that Zelenskyy was coming and he should decide whether he would meet Zelenskyy.
Radev, in contrast to the pro-Western government’s policies, opposes Bulgaria supplying weaponry to Ukraine and repeatedly has said that he favours “peace”.
Denkov said that Bulgaria supports Ukraine and should continue its assistance for two reasons.
He said that the first was that Ukraine was a country under attack.
“Seventy years after the Second World War, the foundations of world peace consist in observing the principle that the borders of a country are inviolable. Russia violated this rule, attacked a neighbouring country, and all countries must help restore the original borders in order to restore order in international relations.
“Because if one aggressor has done this in one place, and others will try. So the international order rests on the protection of borders.”
The second reason was directly related to Bulgaria’s security, Denkov said.
“Russia has repeatedly threatened that after Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltic States, why not others, which are also larger and members of the Alliance, may follow. This is about worrisome threats,” he said.
“In addition, I recall that Bulgaria was declared an enemy state by Russia without having done anything in this regard.
“It is good to remember that the Russian army entered Bulgaria during the Second World War without Bulgaria declaring war on the USSR. If Ukraine wins the war, the borders where we can expect aggression will be far from the borders of Bulgaria. If it loses the war, things will look different,” Denkov said.
At a meeting on July 5, Bulgaria’s government approved a draft of a Joint Declaration between Bulgaria and Ukraine regarding the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, the government information service said.
On July 4, the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee adopted a draft declaration supporting Ukraine’s accession to Nato once the war is over. The declaration is supported by four out of six parliamentary groups and is expected to be approved when put to the vote in the House.
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