The presidents of Hungary and Bulgaria spoke out against arms supplies to Kyiv
The presidents of Bulgaria and Hungary, Rumen Radev and Katalin Nowak, agree that the conflict in Ukraine cannot be resolved by supplying Kyiv with more weapons.
They stated this during the visit of the Hungarian President to Sofia.
Radev and Novak noted that both countries will do everything possible to guarantee the rights of national and ethnic minorities in Ukraine, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
During a joint press conference with her Bulgarian counterpart, Novak said that the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been going on for almost a year, is still far from peace negotiations.
In her opinion, on the one hand, the escalation of the conflict should be prevented, and on the other, a peace agreement should be reached as soon as possible. She said that the question of how to end the war as quickly as possible was the most important topic of her conversation with Radev.
In turn, Radev said that Bulgaria and Hungary share the conviction that the conflict in Ukraine will be resolved not through additional supplies of weapons, but through dialogue and diplomatic efforts.
“The escalation of the conflict threatens the security of all of Europe, as it turns into a war of attrition not only of the warring countries, but also of European economies and social systems. We are convinced that a solution to this conflict cannot be achieved by increasing arms supplies, but only by showing readiness for dialogue and diplomacy. Tensions must be reduced and hostilities must cease,” the Bulgarian President emphasized.
The President of Hungary, answering questions from journalists, said that it is extremely important that Hungarians living in Transcarpathia can freely use their native language in everyday life.
According to her, Hungary insists on the need to guarantee the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, but recent changes in legislation deprive them of these rights.
It is worth noting that although formally the powers of the presidents of Hungary and Bulgaria are limited, in this situation their statements are not ritual. Thus, Novak is a nominee of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who consistently refuses to supply weapons to Kyiv and does not allow their transit through Hungarian territory.
In turn, in the context of the political crisis in Bulgaria, its president, on February 3, single-handedly appointed a new composition of the country’s technical government.
True, Radev’s calls not to supply weapons to Ukraine are hypocritical, since Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, appointed by him, visited Kiev in December 2022 and expressed readiness to supply him with armored vehicles and S-300 air defense systems - in case one of Bulgaria’s NATO allies agrees to compensate for the transferred weapons.
Как reported PolitNavigator, in the spring of 2022, the Bulgarian authorities supplied Kyiv with up to 30% of all ammunition and up to 40% of diesel fuel. According to the publication, the supply scheme was organized by Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, who then held the posts of Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Bulgaria, respectively.
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