Bulgaria sent a plane to bring the Ukrainian president
Russia should withdraw from Ukraine and bear responsibility for the crimes, announced the Bulgarian position Nikolay Denkov
The head of state asked to hear more of the word “peace” from the guest, to whom he did not shake hands
President Volodymyr Zelensky received a radically different reception from the two sides of “Dondukov” on his first landmark visit to Sofia. In front of the government building, he was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov. In the presidency, however, he found the head of state Rumen Radev sitting at the table and the two did not even shake hands. Later, in the Council of Ministers, Zelensky also met with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov
In line with the situation, Zelensky received support from the government for Ukraine’s membership in NATO and the EU, a promise of more military aid and an energy agreement. While he and Radev publicly exchanged biting remarks, before the Bulgarian president expelled the only media he had invited – BNT. Volodymyr Zelensky and Rumen Radev talked for less than an hour.
The visit of the Ukrainian president to Sofia was announced by Prime Minister Mykola Denkov only early in the morning on Thursday. As he emphasized that he personally called President Rumen Radev to organize a meeting between him and Zelensky. Asked later when the meeting would be, the presidency succinctly explained that they had not been officially informed of his visit by the cabinet.
Zelensky arrived in Sofia on a Bulgarian government plane, which was specially sent to the Moldovan capital Chisinau to pick him up. The flight with a machine from a NATO member state aims to reduce the danger of a Russian attack. Zelensky was met at the airport by Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel, who took him directly to the Council of Ministers. And his meeting there with Denkov and Gabriel lasted an hour longer than planned. And Zelensky repeatedly thanked for her.
It’s an honor to be here! I am glad to visit your country. It is very important that
in this moral crisis in Europe, Bulgaria is a defender
and an opponent of the policy of genocide that Russia is pursuing against us, our independence and people, Zelensky said after the meeting. He spoke first at Denkov’s insistence and was visibly surprised by this courtesy. There was an increased police presence throughout the day in Sofia on Thursday. About 30 people gathered in front of the Council of Ministers before Zelensky arrived. Some of them supported the Ukrainian president and chanted his name when he entered the government building. Others, however, brought a Russian flag and demanded to know why it was here. Zelensky arrived at the Council of Ministers directly from the airport. Prime Minister Denkov was waiting for him at the entrance.
The attitude towards Russia in different countries is not unambiguous. This is life. People often find it difficult to acknowledge the reality of evil, especially when they have not encountered it. When thousands of kilometers separate us from some countries and from Russian artillery mercilessly incinerating towns and villages in Ukraine, or when people cannot feel what sleepless nights and days of anxiety mean because of the incessant sirens of Russian missile and drone terror, then it is easier to dismiss the thought of what Russia has done, Zelensky also said.
The Ukrainian president
specifically recounted the atrocities committed by the Russian army
in his country.
Every country has the right to defend itself. All of you here – if someone breaks into your place, you will protect your children. We do not know where 200 thousand children are. Can you imagine such a number? Some of them have been deported, some are in the occupied territories. We are for people’s rights, we fight for them, assured Zelensky. He said that the aid that Bulgaria has sent is very valuable and thanks to it human lives have already been saved. He was categorical that these weapons are not used for attack, as the pro-Russian parties in our country say, but for defense.
Artillery is to keep them from coming to us, not for enemy territory
She does not beat them, but keeps them from coming to Ukraine. They use rockets against the civilian population, on people’s homes. They say they are targeting military personnel, but today people were killed on the border with Poland, he recalled. That is why he thanked Bulgaria for the provided military assistance. However, he emphasized that soon our country expects to send its ambassador to Kiev, which has not been there since the beginning of the war.
Bulgaria expects Russia to withdraw from the territory of Ukraine and bear responsibility for the war crimes committed, Denkov said. He praised the efforts of the “Petkov” cabinet for the help it had provided to the warring party, mentioning Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev by name.
The future of Ukraine is at the heart of European security, Denkov said. It is also committed that our country will help the restoration of Ukraine and its inclusion in the EU and NATO. But he asked Zelensky to respect the rights of the Bulgarian minority in Ukraine.
Immediately after the talks with Denkov, Zelensky went to “Dondukov” 2, where Radev met him, sitting at the table with his advisers, including the former acting Prime Minister Galab Donev.
Even with the first lines, the tension between the two is evident. And Zelensky’s response to Radev’s calls to seek a diplomatic end to the war was described by the Brussels publication “Politico” as devastating.
You do not support weapons for Ukraine so that your army is not weakened or you do not support the strengthening of Ukraine, Zelensky asked.
I do not accept the provision of ammunition, especially from the reserves of the Bulgarian army. As commander-in-chief, I have clear responsibilities to ensure that the state’s defense capabilities do not weaken, Radev insisted.
On the very first day I denounced the aggression against your country. In the first months, Bulgaria lent a hand to thousands of citizens of Ukraine, and many of them continue to be under the protection of the Bulgarian state, Radev added. According to him, the risk to Europe’s security, including from radioactive contamination, is growing, and the “conflict” is turning into exhaustion, into a global clash, and social tension is exacerbating.
I continue to maintain that this conflict has no military solution and more and more weapons hardly lead to this solution, Rumen Radev also said.
If this is a conflict, millions of people will not leave the country, Zelensky insisted.
It is good to give to the people so that they can defend themselves so that the war does not come to you. God forbid it becomes a tragedy and the war comes to you, what will you do then if no one helps you, asked the president of Ukraine.
I fully understand your arguments, Mr. President. You noticed that I used the word war a few times, and this is definitely one. Ukraine has its place in the EU. We would also like to hear more of the word “peace”. The leading efforts should be to achieve peace. I believe that at the moment we have not used all the means of diplomacy to work in this direction, Radev replied.
However, this angered Zelensky. This is not about diplomacy. The nuclear power plant is mined. We are not invading there with weapons. The Russians seized the plant to cause a power shortage, he insisted.
I wish you all peace. I am grateful for the ammo support. If war comes to you,
will you say: “Putin, take Bulgarian territories?”
No, there isn’t. You and I are guarantors of the constitutions and we must protect them, protect the people. It is your right not to support giving weapons, Zelensky also said.
After these remarks, Radev expelled the media. A little later, Zelensky went to another meeting with deputies and members of the public in “Boyana”. From Sofia, he flew to Istanbul, where he will meet the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan.
Rosen Zhelyazkov initiated the invitation to the president
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself has requested to visit Bulgaria, and his visit has been prepared for less than two weeks. While trying to arrange an invitation for such a visit, which nevertheless took place with a formal invitation from the government, the Ukrainian Embassy encountered unexpected difficulties.
Initially, Zelensky’s desire to come to Sofia was shared with the presidency. The reason – it is about the visit of a head of state and it is appropriate that the invitation be at the same level. However, the team of the presidency replied that Rumen Radev’s schedule is full and that it is possible to talk after September.
The newly elected Bulgarian government with Prime Minister Mykola Denkov was the second choice of the Ukrainians, say diplomatic sources. There, however, the answer was rather evasive. With the excuse that the government has just taken office and possibly a visit of Zelensky to Sofia in the fall can be discussed. However, the current political situation in Bulgaria was too complicated, the Council of Ministers clarified.
Finally, the Ukrainian ambassador Olesya Ilashchuk sought the assistance of the Speaker of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov. This time, she received confirmation that an invitation to visit Volodymyr Zelensky will be sent. The head of the parliament also ordered the initial preparations for the visit. Only then did Prime Minister Denkov’s office join the invitation and the preparations. The final decision was made, however, that the invitation to Zelensky would be sent by the executive and not by the legislature.
A one-on-one meeting with GERB leader Boyko Borisov was also included in Zelensky’s program. The two spoke at the National History Museum before the meeting of the President of Ukraine with representatives of the parliament and non-governmental organizations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and GERB leader Boyko Borisov met at the discussion in “Boyana”. Next to the two in the photo is Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel.
The future of Ukraine, its security and European security is in NATO and the European Union. An independent and sovereign Ukraine is key to the security of the entire region, Borissov told Zelensky, according to a post on his Facebook profile.
USA and EU ready to pay for Belene reactors
The negotiations should be completed in two months
Already on Thursday, NEK started negotiations for the possible provision of the equipment for the Belene NPP to Ukraine.
This was one of the topics of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s talks in Sofia, after the parliament on Thursday approved a deal with the two reactors bought from Bulgaria. According to the decision of the National Assembly, the negotiations should be completed within 2 months.
The talks are mediated by the EC and if a deal is reached, it will be financed by the EU. The idea is to install them as the 3rd and 4th reactors at the Khmelnytskyi NPP. It is a fully operational plant, and due to the destruction caused by the war, Ukraine is in urgent need of energy. The hulls of our reactors are slightly more massive because they are designed for a seismic area like Belene, and the Ukrainians will probably have to reinforce the site under the two future power units, energy experts say. Ukraine is able to complete the two reactors with its own forces, because the Soviet nuclear industry was developed on the territory of today’s Russia and Ukraine.
And if they continue to stay in our country with it being unclear how long the sanctions against Russia will last, their release in Bulgaria will take a long time
The US has also expressed readiness to finance Ukraine with the 600 million euros it needs to buy the two Russian reactors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. According to the publication, there was also an option on the table for Bulgaria to receive shares in the nuclear power plant in Ukraine against the reactors.
Whatever part of the equipment Ukraine decides to buy, it will have to pay the full price of BGN 1.176 billion, explained GERB deputy Delyan Dobrev, who introduced the decision on the deal in the parliament. This is the price Bulgaria paid Russia to buy the two reactors.
In addition, with the adoption of the proposal, the decision of the National Assembly of June 7, 2018 to resume actions on the search for opportunities for the construction of the nuclear power plant is canceled.
2023-07-06 18:53:00
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