President Rumen Radev commented on current topics. He participated today in the charity sports festival “You are the winner”, which is being held under the patronage of the head of state.
"Bulgaria and Europe are facing two important tests - ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and overcoming the lag in the security sector. Both are important, but we must make a huge distinction between them. At the last council in Brussels, there was a lot of talk about rearmament and almost nothing about ending the war in Ukraine, which is dragging Europe to the bottom, except for talk of imposing peace by force, which from the mouth of Europe sounds increasingly unrealistic. I have always insisted on a more responsible attitude of Europe and Bulgaria towards security, but I am not in a hurry to join the fanfare for the European rearmament plan. There is some enthusiasm that there will be 800 billion for investments in defense and the defense industry, but it should be clear, there is no such money. There will be loans and refusals", commented President Rumen Radev.
The head of state commented that he expects the Bulgarian government to approach Bulgaria's commitments to this case responsibly and critically.
"More important than the funds themselves is the state's own attitude towards these issues. The modernization of the Bulgarian army, the strengthening of the defense industry must be a primary, permanent, conscious commitment of every government, and not wait for direction from Brussels to think about them," said Rumen Radev.
He also commented on whether, in his opinion, peace in Ukraine is close.
„For me, what is more worrying is that Europe is the big missing person in the dialogue that has begun to end the conflict, to cease fire, and Europe is the one that has suffered the most. The future of Europe depends on this and the future security architecture depends on this. Europe can no longer afford to ignore reality and stand aside with the empty hope that it will impose peace through force,“ said the president.
According to him, a diplomatic solution must be sought that guarantees the security of both sides.