site.btaBulgaria's Consul General in Odesa: PM Zhelyazkov's Visit Showed Not Only Support for Ukraine, But for Bulgarian Diaspora

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's visit to Odesa was a landmark, Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov told the Bulgarian News Agency on Friday. "It showed not only Ukraine's support, this visit showed Bulgaria's support for our Bulgarian diaspora," he added.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov Wednesday attended the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa and met wit Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"The forum was extremely important for Ukraine because it was attended by heads of state, presidents, prime ministers from the region and the Western Balkans. The preparation of the forum was carried out under exceptional security measures and in compliance with all the instructions of the Ukrainian services. The day before, there was a severe drone attack in the city, two people were killed and nine people were injured. One of the buildings that was damaged was a hospital. Our delegation was the only one that arrived in Odesa the day before and spent the night in the city," Ivanov said.

"Attention was paid to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction. Our Prime Minister stated Bulgaria's firm participation in the post-war reconstruction mainly in the energy sector, in rebuilding the port infrastructure and in strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations", the Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa said.

He added that one of the themes of the open session was that Bulgaria should, if possible, take part in the rehabilitation of Ukrainian servicemen, as well as of children of disabled servicemen, of fallen servicemen, who could be sent to Bulgaria in the summer for recovery.

Zelenskyy's protocol set the bilateral meeting between the Ukrainian President and the Bulgarian Prime Minister to take place first - a sign of very great trust, Ivanov noted. President Zelenskyy thanked Bulgaria for its support and said it was extremely important for Ukraine at this difficult time, the diplomat stressed.

"The Bulgarian Prime Minister highlighted some of the main points regarding the recovery in the different sectors and especially Ukraine's support for its European integration. He paid particular attention to the importance of the Bulgarian national minority, as it is one of the largest Bulgarian historical communities abroad, stressing that it is important for us, as Bulgarians, to respect the rights of the Bulgarian national minority in terms of their education and learning the Bulgarian language," Ivanov said.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister pointed out that Bulgaria insists on respecting the rights of the Bulgarian national minority, the right to education and the Bulgarian language.

The Consul General added: “The reference points we are working on regarding the rights of national minorities and regarding the first chapter in the negotiating framework for Ukraine's accession to the EU include precisely the rights of national minorities, but under this summary to ensure the right to education, it also includes the right to learn the Bulgarian language, the right to train teachers in the Bulgarian language”.