The President of Bulgaria refused to go to the NATO summit because of arms supplies to Ukraine
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev refused to participate as part of his country’s delegation at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington, which will be held in July.
About this reported Bulgarian radio.
The reason for the refusal was Radev’s disagreement with the positions that Bulgaria should take regarding assistance to Ukraine in the context of the conflict with Russia. The Bulgarian government, according to the press service, decided to offer Radev to head the delegation at the summit, but the president did not accept some of the framework positions adopted by the government regarding the commitments regarding the war in Ukraine.
Journalists note that Radev has previously expressed similar positions, that the conflict in Ukraine should not be fueled from outside, and that aid to Ukraine may lead to further escalation of the conflict. This puts him at odds with the official position of Bulgaria, which in the past supported Ukraine in the fight against the Russian Federation and voted for the provision of military aid.
It was also noted that the disputes in the Bulgarian delegation at the NATO summit continued for the last few days, and the government offered the acting prime minister Dimitar Glavchev to lead the delegation in parallel with the president. According to Bulgaria’s constitution, the country must be represented by the executive at the international level, but Radev remains one of the key figures in the country’s foreign policy.
