Bulgarian PM says he is not pro-Russian: "I don't care about supporting Russia"

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev has denied that he is "pro-Russian", arguing that he is being vilified because the approach he recommends taking to a Ukraine-Russia peace deal is "not mainstream".

Source: Euronews, as reported by European Pravda

Quote from Radev: "It is typical, and it is very sad, that if you divert from the political mainstream, you are labelled immediately as pro-Russian. This is not the reality."

Details: He went on to say that he "doesn't care" about supporting Russia, but that he values a "realistic approach and finding the road to peace as soon as possible, because this war drains our social and economic systems almost every day".

Radev insisted that Europe needs to rebalance its "military, economic and diplomatic instruments", adding that he "doesn't see the right balance yet".

Quote: "Our main priority should be to speak and to work for peace."

Details: He added that the power of diplomacy has not yet been exhausted.

Background:

• Radev is one of a small number of EU leaders calling for talks with Moscow to settle the war it unleashed against Ukraine.
• He recently said the European Union should engage in diplomatic negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and prevent a devastating nuclear strike.
• On 14 July, Radev announced that Bulgaria would no longer be participating in the Coalition of the Willing because, he said, the coalition supports continuing military aid to Ukraine instead of diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.
• Radev has also distanced himself from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition. Commenting on the initiative, which has 10 members, he said that decisions affecting collective security "are taken in a different format, in a different place".

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