site.btaPM Radev Says Bulgaria Cannot Contribute to New Ukraine Funding Request

Bulgaria cannot contribute to the funding sought by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the latest European Council meeting, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Tuesday.

Radev said Zelensky had requested EUR 70 billion at the European Council meeting that ended at the end of last week. He was speaking to reporters in Tvarditsa, Southeastern Bulgaria, where he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a battery energy storage park.

Radev said a European decision had been taken in 2025 to provide Ukraine with a EUR 90 billion loan guaranteed by the EU. "How does that look to you against the backdrop of everything happening in Europe? Bulgaria cannot contribute to this EUR 70 billion," he said.

Asked about the situation in France and Italy and possible risks for Bulgaria, Radev identified uncontrolled migration, failed integration, the Green Deal, de-industrialization and job losses as causes of discontent among European citizens.

The war in Ukraine was also draining European economies and fuelling social tension and political instability, he said. Political responses would become increasingly difficult because European citizens' prosperity was "draining into this war" at the expense of addressing their own problems, he added.

Radev called for the war to end as soon as possible. Each additional day posed risks to peace, prosperity, and social and political stability, he said.

Radev said he expected a more rational approach and stressed the need for diplomacy. The front line had been frozen for more than a year, and a solution would not be achieved by military means, he said.