site.btaPM Glavchev Will Not Sign Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine without National Assembly Approval

Caretaker Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said he will sign a security cooperation agreement with Ukraine only if he receives an approval from the National Assembly.

The PM was talking to Bulgarian journalists here on Wednesday, where he arrived to attend a EU-Western Balkans Meeting later in the day and a European Council meeting on Thursday. 

"If there is a majority at the National Assembly, I will sign. This is the underlying idea of the letter sent today: I think it is normal for a caretaker cabinet and a Parliament-elected one, too, to consult the MPs about what it is doing. I don't have any concerns about the agreement, it is legally non-binding and political and does not fall within the scope of treaties subject to ratification by the National Assembly. The only thing that concerns me is the 10-year term [of the agreement]," Glavchev specified.

"We are in touch with the Ukrainian side, they said they are understanding. If the National Assembly does not adopt a resolution, I will not sign," he added. The PM pointed out that six EU Member States have not signed this agreement so far. He went on to say that the agreement does not give rise to legal consequences but is of the nature of a political declaration. "It could be withdrawn by a Parliament-elected government," he said. In his words, "it won't be fatal if the signature is left for a Parliament-elected government."