Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said “those who insisted on sending military aid to Ukraine were either behaving irresponsibly because they could not assess the risks to Bulgaria or because they were ignorant.”

During a visit to Plovdiv, the head of state said that in the first hours of the war he had convened a consultative meeting of the country's government, where they clearly and unequivocally condemned the Russian Federation's aggression in Ukraine. The President stressed that Bulgaria is a loyal member of NATO and the EU and is in solidarity with our partners and allies, but "there is a feeling that many people speak without having their own opinion" and speak according to the requirements of our partners.

"People who instill these militaristic sentiments and constantly insist on providing weapons do not make significant differences. Unlike our partners, Bulgaria is much closer to this conflict - we have a real common border on the Black Sea. We also have a huge historical diaspora in Ukraine. We are much more dependent on Russian gas. So the people who make the decision must take into account the security of the Bulgarians. Others, in my opinion, do so out of ignorance without even assessing the risk", said Rumen Radev.

The head of state asked several questions to politicians who want to provide military assistance to Ukraine: to assess the level of air security for those living from Durankulak to Sofia; the condition of the Bulgarian fighter aircraft; how long our Euro-Atlantic allies will be in the country - the Dutch Air Force is here until the end of May, whether there are any plans after that and what is the state of the Bulgarian radar system.

"Let these people answer these questions. Do they know according to the graded response plans with our allies what the deadlines are and what is the process of the delegated forces that need to come here? What will be their capacity? If they know the answers to these questions and they keep insisting, so their behavior is irresponsible, if they don't know them, it's just ignorant."

Radev hinted that the suspension of Russian gas was due to intermediaries

According to the president, Europe is late in making a common decision on Russian gas, as Russia has long warned of what could happen. Radev stressed that he did not justify the Russian side because it had violated its agreement with Bulgaria:

“The question is what did Bulgaria do, given that it knew there was such a potential danger. Did Bulgargaz sign a direct supply contract for May? If it did, what would the price be - probably 70 euros. Are there any contracts for intermediaries, why did intermediaries appear? MET Energy - at what price, MM ENERGY - at what price? If it turns out that intermediaries enter the game, something I talked about with the removal of the former management of Bulgargaz, isn't this targeted? If the price jumps by 30%, hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians and small and medium-sized enterprises will be on the brink, how will we bear this blow? If the solution is new aid loans, the economy will collapse someday.”

The Bulgarian Socialist Party will find a way to stay in the coalition

Rumen Radev is of the opinion that if a decision is finally made to send military aid to Ukraine, the BSP leadership "will find a wording that will not be responsible if something is sent, but will remain in the coalition."

Accident with a car of NSS on the way to Plovdiv

Radev also commented on the incident with the National Security Service (NSS) car, which was moving in front of the president's car on the way to Plovdiv.

"The NSS car, which was moving before me, had an accident - a truck jumped overtaking. The doctor of my team, who I immediately took in my car and drove to a hospital in Plovdiv, was injured - he has a fractured elbow joint. The traffic was heavy, Plovdiv is an industrial city, heavy transport equipment is running. It is high time to resolve the issues with the bypass roads of Plovdiv, the incident happened in the narrowest sections of the road," said Rumen Radev.

Earlier today, the NSS announced that two of their employees were injured after being hit by a truck that entered the opposite lane at around 10 o'clock today. The service pointed out that the victims were in contact and were taken to a medical institution for examination. The NSS also informed that the official car of the NSS, which did not transport a guarded person, was damaged.

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