Radev and Zelenskyy hold talks during European Council meeting

Bulgarian Prime Minister Roumen Radev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks on the sidelines of the two-day European Council meeting in Brussels, with their offices issuing notably brief statements afterwards.

The Bulgarian government information service, in a three-sentence statement, said during the meeting, Bulgaria’s key role in ensuring energy security in the region, including natural gas supplies, electricity production and transmission, was discussed.

The potential for industrial partnership and technology transfer to Bulgaria in the field of drone production was also a focus during the conversation, the statement said.

The Ukrainian President’s office issued a statement headlined: “The President Discussed Further Support for Ukraine with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria”.

The statement said that the leaders discussed in detail the development of bilateral and regional cooperation. The focus was on energy security, including at the regional level.

They also addressed preparations for intergovernmental consultations between Ukraine and Bulgaria and potential joint projects, the statement said.

The President invited Bulgaria to begin work on a special agreement in the Drone Deal format, it said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Rumen Radev agreed to task their teams with following up on all the issues discussed and preparing a number of bilateral documents, the Ukrainian President’s office said.

Radev, whose government took office on May 8, has confirmed that Bulgaria will no longer provide military equipment to Ukraine. Radev also opposes some of the proposed new sanctions on Russia over that country’s war on Ukraine.

When he was Bulgaria’s president, Radev opposed sanctions on Russia and military aid to Ukraine.

Arguably the best-remembered encounter between Radev, when Bulgaria’s President, and Zelenskyy, was in July 2023 when the Ukrainian President visited Sofia and delivered to Radev a humiliating dressing-down.

(Photos: Ukrainian President’s office, and government.bg)