site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian President to UN General Assembly: "We Live in a World of Increasing Risks and Uncertainty"

Addressing the UN General Assembly here on Wednesday, President Rumen Radev said: "We live in a world of increasing risks and uncertainty. The resurrected ghost of self-destruction, as a result of the full-scale war in Europe, is a nightmare that my generation wrongly believed to be bygone phase in human history."

"War, conflicts and terror challenge the future of our civilization. So do the higher level of socioeconomic distress, the growing food insecurity, the disruption of chains of supply and the rise of the inflation rates started during the COVID-19 disaster," Radev went on to say. "After the weakening of the pandemic, the hopes for rearranging the broken societal and economic links brought some optimism, but then the war in Ukraine blazed out. It exacerbated all these crises of various kind and destroyed not only thousands of human lives, but also the optimism that we are able to build back better," he added.

“It has been 19 months since a permanent member of the Security Council unleashed a war of aggression against its neighboring country, violating the principles of the UN Charter and international law. From the first day, Bulgaria strongly condemns the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” Radev said. He expressed concern of a spillover in the Black Sea region, affecting countries neighboring Ukraine, and concern over the Russian Federation’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. “An important priority of the 78-th UNGA Session should be to find modalities that may pave a way towards restoring the peace in Ukraine. What we need is stronger political will, diplomacy and active talks about comprehensive, just and sustainable peace, based on the internationally recognized UN principles,” Radev noted.

In Radev’s words, Bulgaria is a strong supporter of the European path of the Western Balkan countries as the most effective way to stabilize the region. Goodneighbourly relations, comprehensive reforms and fulfilment of accession criteria are the core of integration process, he added.

Radev recalled that this year, Bulgaria marked the 80th anniversary of the rescue of its entire Jewish population - counting 50, 000 people - during World War II. “This remarkable episode of our modern history inspires us to continue efforts to affirm tolerance and understanding as core values of modern democracy,” he noted.