Zelenskyy criticizes Bulgarian president for pro-Russian stance on war in Ukraine

Politico reported the information.

According to the outlet, Radev said that "there is no military solution,” and “more and more weapons will not solve it." In response, Zelenskyy criticized the Bulgarian president's statement. 

"God forbid some tragedy should befall you and you should be in my place. And if people with shared values do not help, what will you do? You would say: Putin, please grab Bulgarian territory?" said the President of Ukraine.

He further added that as a true president, Radev would likely not have compromised on any agreement that would have jeopardized Bulgaria's independence.

Zelenskyy also criticized Radev for preferring to refer to the full-scale invasion as a "conflict" rather than a "war." He rejected the Bulgarian president's proposal for a diplomatic settlement of the war and emphasized that Russia had launched "war of annihilation against Ukrainians, not other countries."

The Ukrainian president also noted that the government in Sofia, which contradicts Radev, did the right thing by providing Ukraine with weapons. He emphasized that no matter how many weapons Bulgaria had and how many good people there were in the country, it would not be enough to fight against 160 million Russians. In his opinion, this is why it is important to provide weapons so that Ukraine can defend itself.

"Ukraine and NATO should have shared values. It can’t be otherwise. You cannot support Russia and support a balancing position because Russia wants to destroy NATO, wants to destroy Europe and the European Union; these are their goals. Do you get me?" Zelenskyy emphasized.

Eventually, Radev said he had a proposal. However, before continuing the conversation with Zelenskyy, he asked to remove the cameras. 

• On July 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on an official visit to the Bulgarian capital Sofia and garnered support for Ukraine's accession to NATO, the Peace and Energy Formula.