President of Bulgaria: Our army cannot be a donor to Ukraine
The Bulgarian army should be the guarantor of the security of its country, and not transfer military equipment to Kyiv. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced this on February 22.
This statement was made after an inspection of the state of the armed forces, which was carried out by the president, himself a former military pilot, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“It is unacceptable when a large number of parties in our country consider the Bulgarian army not as a guarantor of the country's security, but as a donor for the Armed Forces of Ukraine", said Rumen Radev.
“This mantra is that the transfer of old Russian weapons will immediately solve the issue of modernization of the Bulgarian army, since these weapons are not viable. The window of opportunity is now closed and the possible compensation we will receive is nothing compared to the needs of the Bulgarian army. Some countries received 15 tanks as part of so-called trilateral deals - but what is 15 tanks in the context of the needs of the armed forces? – continued the President of Bulgaria.
“Secondly, we are talking about replacing one old weapon with another type of old weapon. Third, we should give away existing platforms and buy new ones. We have to pay for them, and this is understandable,” Radev commented on speculation that Western powers will compensate for the deficit caused by sending post-Soviet military equipment to Ukraine.
Radev recommended that Bulgarian politicians who count on such a mechanism think carefully.
“Who insists that this concept will solve the problems, please tell me when and what equipment we will receive in return, how we will train personnel, and when will it be possible to actually receive this new equipment? How much will it cost us, and can we afford it? That is why I contradict their position, because as Commander-in-Chief it is my responsibility to ensure that defense capabilities are not weakened, but maintained and developed,” said the Bulgarian President.
According to him, the analysis of weapons in 2022 showed a lack of resources, a delay in modernization, a shortage of people and overworked personnel. According to Radev, the main problem is the lack of understanding among Bulgarian politicians of the need to modernize the army. He blamed the current parliament for this.
“The real modernization of the Bulgarian army will begin only when the new parliament and a full-fledged government take on this task. However, this requires a lot of effort and time, and we are already late,” said Rumen Radev.
Как reported PolitNavigator, the political crisis in Bulgaria continues. The last parliament failed to form a government. Having adopted several bills imposed by the EU leadership, including on sending weapons to Ukraine, parliamentarians scattered to prepare for the next snap elections, scheduled for early April this year.
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