site.btaPresidency Responds to Media Questions on Russia-Ukraine Conflict

President Rumen Radev's position that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has no military solution is known, the presidential press secretariat said Saturday in response to questions from the media.

"Every day of this war leads to casualties and destruction, which are not only against the interests of Russia and Ukraine, but also have severe economic, social and political consequences for the whole of Europe. Fueling the fighting with more and more weapons increases the risk of a global military conflict," the circulated position paper said.

That is why President Radev believes that it is the duty not only of those directly involved in the hostilities, but also of the international community to make systematic efforts to de-escalate and stop the hostilities and seek a real peaceful solution through diplomacy, based on the principles and agreements within the UN and international law, the statement further said.

On Friday, commenting on the NATO Leaders Summit in Vilnius, Radev told journalists at the opening of the 2023 Rozhen National Folk Fair that "it is high time we start thinking soberly and objectively about the war and our attitude towards it". "Unfortunately, it is in such critical times that the Bulgarian government does not have thinking of its own, does not have its own opinions and positions," Radev said, adding that Bulgarian government started changing their position only after ‘big’ NATO member states declared that Ukraine’s accelerated accession to NATO is unacceptable.

"I want to make it clear that Ukraine insists on waging this war," Radev said. "But it should also be clear that the bill is being paid by the whole of Europe," the head of State added. According to him, this war has many dimensions - economic, social, political.

Earlier on Saturday, the Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria said on its Facebook page that Ukraine is making every effort to restore peace. Shifting the blame for the war on Ukraine, which was treacherously attacked by its northern neighbor, is one of the most widespread mainstays of Russian propaganda and hybrid warfare in Europe, the embassy said. "What Ukraine wants most is peace, and it is the aggressor who insists on waging war!" the embassy wrote on its social network page.