Bulgarian president against Ukraine’s membership in NATO

By Krassen Nikolov

The Presidency published his position on the occasion of the declaration of the presidents of nine Central and Eastern European countries demanding that Ukraine be accepted into the Alliance. Bulgaria was not part of this declaration.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev declared himself against Ukraine’s membership in NATO until the conflict with Russia ends.

The Presidency published his position after the presidents of nine Central and Eastern European countries-Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia- called for Ukraine’s application made on Friday to be accepted. demanding that Ukraine be accepted into the Alliance.

“Head of State Rumen Radev disagrees with the full text of the declaration adopted by some countries in Eastern Europe regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO. President Rumen Radev supports the other positions contained in the document,” reads the position of the Bulgarian president.

Bulgaria and Hungary are the only two countries in the EU and NATO that do not help Ukraine with direct military aid.

Membership in the alliance requires the unanimous support of all its 30 members, and there is no fast-track procedure. NATO’s treaty includes provisions, especially the collective defence clause Article 5, that restrict accepting a candidate at war or with disputed territories.

“Bulgaria is part of the declaration from the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008 regarding Ukraine’s future accession, but this declaration was adopted in a completely different security environment. Military actions on the territory of Ukraine today require that its membership in the Alliance be discussed within the full composition of the North Atlantic Council and not lead to the risk of the direct involvement of NATO countries in the war,” the Bulgarian president’s position reads.

According to the head of state, “a decision on Ukraine’s accession to NATO should be made only after the development of clear parameters for the peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, to be accepted and implemented by both belligerent countries”./Euractiv/