Zelensky discussed weapons and NATO in Bulgaria

387

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Bulgaria to discuss joining NATO and to ask for an increase in the delivery of weapons by this country, a major producer of ammunition, and in the midst of Kiev’s counter-offensive.

After the visit ended, Zelensky traveled to Prague, before heading to Istanbul on Friday. “We are grateful for the support provided by Bulgaria”, said the Ukrainian head of state alongside the new Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, who imposed a turnaround in the country through more sustained support for Kiev. During the journey of a few hours to the capital Sofia, support for the [Ukrainian] defence, Ukraine’s integration into the EU and Atlantic Alliance, the NATO summit and security guarantees were discussed, indicated the parties. A “joint declaration” was also signed in favor of Kiev’s accession to NATO, in view of the Vilnius summit scheduled for 11 and 12 July. The Ukrainian president said that he went to Bulgaria to resolve “the lack of weapons” and repeated that the slow pace of arms deliveries had slowed Kiev’s counteroffensive, allowing Moscow to reinforce its defenses in the occupied zones, in particular through mines. “Our partners’ motivation must remain intact,” he insisted. Otherwise, “we will lose the initiative on the battlefield”. To Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, an intransigent opponent of sending any military aid for fear of an escalation, Zelensky replied that the objective is to “defend oneself” to prevent the war from spreading to the rest of Europe. Bulgaria, a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO, but historically and culturally close to Moscow, is deeply divided on this issue. However, the weapons factories built during the former one-party regime have been working at a high pace since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, and according to estimates, exports of the Bulgarian military industry exceeded four billion euros, triple the previous record of 2017. Until now, third countries have played the role of intermediaries, a solution found at the beginning of the war by former Prime Minister Kiril Petrov. “Practically everything we received in the early days of the conflict came from our Bulgarian partners,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak recently told Bulgarian television Nova. The Russian presidency criticized this visit, interpreting it as Kiev’s desire to involve “more countries” in the conflict in Ukraine. “Numerous countries have already stuck their heads in this conflict, directly or indirectly. This matter will be raised with the Bulgarians,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media. Sofia and Kiev also agreed to cooperate on energy, with Bulgaria proposing two nuclear reactors to Ukraine that it had ordered from Russia in an abandoned project. After Prague, Zelensky is due to meet on Friday in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on his first visit to Turkey since the start of the war. According to the pro-government daily Sabah, the two leaders will specifically address the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals, concluded in July 2022 with the sponsorship of the United Nations and Turkey, and which Russia now considers to see “no reason” to extend and after its expiration on July 17. The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24, 2022, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).