Bulgaria’s president refused to go to a NATO summit in July in protest at the government’s pro-Ukraine policy.

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev does not intend to attend the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, representatives of the Bulgarian media said Thursday. The Bulgarian leader was motivated by his disagreement with the government’s policy in Sofia to help Ukraine in the face of a Russian invasion.

He motivated this decision by his disagreement with the Sofia government’s policy towards Ukraine. Since 2021, Bulgaria has been experiencing a permanent political crisis, with snap elections and a series of interim governments that have supported Ukraine, including arms and ammunition, in its war with Russia, despite traditionally close ties between Bulgaria and Russia.

President Rumen Radaev has refused to lead the Bulgarian delegation to the NATO summit as a result of disagreements with the government over some of Bulgaria’s positions at the NATO summit, the Bulgarian presidential office said in a statement.

Certainly, these differences concern Bulgaria’s obligations in the war in Ukraine, the text adds. In it, the Bulgarian President would like to recall that Rumen Radev condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine from the first day of the war.

The president’s decision not to attend the NATO summit comes in an undisclosed document after the government in Sofia endorsed Bulgaria’s structural position at the meeting.

According to a report published last week by the Bulgarian government’s news service, Rumen Radev and Interim Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dimitar Klavchev will attend the NATO summit together.

President Radev, a retired general and former fighter pilot who previously commanded the Bulgarian Air Force, believes there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine, has supported peace talks and has consistently criticized the military support provided to Ukraine by Bulgarian governments. Last two years.

Author: Adrian Dumitru