Joining NATO becomes an issue
Zelenskyj visits pro-European government in Sofia
07/06/2023, 3:40 p.m
A pro-European government has been in office in Sofia since June. And it also stands for a change of course in Ukraine politics. Accordingly, Selenskyj makes a state visit to Bulgaria. Among other things, it will probably also be about Ukraine’s NATO accession.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Bulgaria, where a pro-European government has been in office for the past month. The government in Sofia said Zelensky would stay in Bulgaria for a day. The visit is likely to deal with the delivery of arms and ammunition and Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.
Zelenskyy said on Telegram that he would hold “detailed talks” with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and President Rumen Radev, as well as members of parliament and journalists. According to the Bulgarian government, a joint declaration is to be signed supporting Ukraine’s desire to join NATO with a view to next week’s NATO summit in Vilnius.
A pro-European government has been in office in Sofia since the beginning of June, which decided to change course in Ukraine policy after a number of interim governments had previously rejected any military aid to Kiev. Bulgaria, which borders the Black Sea like Ukraine, is a member of the EU and NATO, but at the same time has close historical and cultural ties with Russia. The positioning in the Ukraine war is highly controversial in the country.
Since the beginning of the war, the Bulgarian armaments industry has been producing at full speed. Last year, Bulgaria exported armaments worth four billion euros – three times the previous high from 2017.
Selenskyj accuses West of hesitation
Before his trip to Sofia, Zelenskyy said in a CNN interview that the West’s hesitant delivery of arms delayed the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched in early June and enabled Russia to strengthen its defenses in the occupied territories, including with mines.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that Kiev “is doing everything possible to draw as many countries as possible directly into the conflict.” Peskow said that many states had already gotten “head over heels” into the conflict. This will be discussed with the Bulgarians.