It is no coincidence that Radev was nominated for a high Russian award by SVR General Leonid Reshetnikov.
Iliyan Vassilev recalls this on "Facebook".
Now to the question – how in my opinion should one react to a possible invitation to participate in a peacekeeping mission:
First, before we rush with “no“, for which we will always have time, (and "no" is exactly what Moscow expects), every self-respecting country should ask for specifics – conditions, parameters, risks, benefits. Only in football propaganda are there "up" and "down". Governments consider, assess, negotiate and only then, and only when the time comes, decide. At this stage, there are no specifics for us to be able to make a statement at all.
Secondly, the argument "we want peace, but only Ukraine should make sacrifices" ultimately means demanding its capitulation. As Radev is so apt to say - "right in the eye". As does the titular Atlanticist and twice hero of Ukraine "political commissar" Peevski. They don't dare - because it is both immoral and anti-European, ergo anti-Bulgarian.
It is precisely because the security architecture in Europe is under threat and in the process of searching for its new balances that the logical behavior is, instead of waiting for the US to bear, as it has been doing so far, the large costs (and for us to get by “thinly” with an army that is smaller than the police), that every European country, including Bulgaria, should assess its contribution to peace and security and increase its contribution. With the clear awareness that we cannot do it alone. Only together. The gimmicks are over.
With the Andreshkov thesis “don't count us out” we are actually saying that we have not understood the most important thing from Trump's message - there is no free lunch, especially when it comes to security. We will have to pay our share of the bill. And this bill includes the security of Ukraine, because - and I emphasize it here - Today there is no European security equation that can be solved without Ukraine, without its combat-ready one-million-strong army.
Period.
All of Europe has fallen asleep in an 80-year peace guaranteed from the outside. There are no instincts, no will to defend itself.
Who is this idiot who thinks we will get away with the reduction? Someone else will pay the bill for us?
The alternative is to pay, as after the Second World War, with total subordination to Russia – which means exporting prosperity to Moscow. And again to repeat the stupid mantras about cheap gas - neither cheap, nor safe, nor "fraternal".
If you haven't understood, this has been Russia's business for centuries – gives “security guarantees“, but you have to pay dearly and never think that you can live better than it.
Thirdly, Radev is actually saying that Bulgaria does not even think of discussing with its allies the threats to collective security and seeking common European solutions. Let them decide for themselves, we here say a firm "no".
Which means that Radev will seek to negotiate with Moscow - directly and personally. If only for that reason he should have kept quiet and waited for the results of the meetings in Saudi Arabia and the European discussion. And then we can judge.
So, let me ask the president, who has clearly aimed for the Russian state award – Under what circumstances would Bulgaria fulfill its commitments under Article 5 of NATO in the increasingly likely event of a Russian attack on a NATO member state - for example, the Baltic states?
The answer is clear: under Radev, there is no option in which Bulgaria would commit to military assistance to a member state if it were attacked by Russia. Guaranteed. It has nothing to do with it.
Well, how can we expect others to protect us if we are attacked?
Therefore, when he exalts himself as a “combat“ general, without having participated in a single battle, I noted that he does not have the basic instincts of real military men who can lead their soldiers into battle, I noted that he can only be a "parade" general.
The real combat generals are in Ukraine. That's where the real combat experience is.
Here there are "generals" at the desk.