Bulgaria's President Radev: All NATO member states are entangled in the war in Ukraine in one way or another

All NATO member states are involved in the war in Ukraine in one way or another - by intelligence sharing, target identification, provisions of weapons, ammunition, training, and there are already European leaders openly talking about this presence. This is what President Rumen Radev said in Switzerland, where he is on an official visit on May 27.

Radev responded to caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev's assurance that the issue of sending Bulgarian troops to Ukraine does not exist.

"It does not matter whether the Bulgarian National Assembly will take a decision (to send troops - ed. note) if another country provokes a direct confrontation with Russia. Bulgaria is a member of NATO, right? There is Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty and its implication," Radev said. (according to Article 5, an attack on one member nation is considered an attack on all).

The head of state is visiting Bern, where he met his Swiss counterpart, Viola Amherd. He congratulated the Swiss President for the initiative to organise an international conference to seek the formula for peace in Ukraine. However, he expressed scepticism about the success of this endeavour in the absence of Russia.

Bulgaria will participate in the conference, but the decision on who will represent it is up to the caretaker cabinet, Radev added.

"This is an extremely important first step - to talk not only about weapons, about preparation and victory, but also about peace. And I congratulate the President of Switzerland for this important step forward, but we both shared that we are not optimistic because without the other side we cannot expect practical results. It is very important whether there will be more countries - especially the global south and South America. It is important what answers will come from China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil," Radev said.

The Head of State also said that he had not shied away from meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is currently visiting Sofia. His visits to Hungary and Switzerland were coordinated long before it became clear that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly would meet in Sofia. He added that he hoped to continue his constructive talks with Stoltenberg at the upcoming NATO summit in Washington.