Approached by journalists here on Saturday, former president Rumen Radev (2017-2026) said that Bulgaria must support all initiatives aimed at preventing and resolving conflicts, but this must be based on a clear analysis of the country’s responsibilities and commitments, and above all on international law. He was commenting on Bulgaria joining the Board of Peace initiative of US President Donald Trump.
“The foreign policy antics of [MRF – New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski and [GERB leader Boyko] Borissov are becoming increasingly untenable, because until yesterday they were ardent supporters of the war, and now suddenly, they are ostentatiously pushing to get us into the Board of Peace,” Radev also said.
On January 22, then outgoing prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov of GERB-UDF announced that Bulgaria joined the Board of Peace. However, Bulgaria’s accession, as a founding State, to the Charter of the Board of Peace is subject to ratification by Parliament. The outgoing government decided to leave the ratification to the new parliament after the April 19 snap elections, but on March 13, the MPs adopted a resolution instructing the caretaker Cabinet to submit a bill of ratification. The draft resolution was tabled by MRF-New Beginning.
In response to a question regarding the bilateral gas supply agreement with Turkish energy company BOTAS, Radev said he has information about a proposal from Turkiye and Azerbaijan on how to ensure the agreement is profitable. “The fact that they are being rejected by the current government in order to attack me and use this as some kind of political leverage is a completely different matter, but the time will come for that as well,” Radev added.
The agreement with BOTAS was signed in January 2023 by a caretaker government appointed by Radev.
Regarding the caretaker Government’s measures to provide relief to citizens in connection with the crisis in the Middle East, Radev said that the measures he proposed are overdue and he hopes the Cabinet will monitor what is being done in other countries.
Radev noted that the political platform and programme of the Progressive Bulgaria coalition, which which he is running in the snap elections, will be announced within the legally established timeframe.
Radev was in Kyustendil at the invitation of the local branch of Progressive Bulgaria. The invitation was on the occasion of the Kyustendil Spring beauty pageant.