site.btaPresident Radev Arrives in Paris for World War One Armistice Day Celebration

ESD 18:57:31 10-11-2018
LN1900ES.110
110 - POLITICS - FRANCE - WWI COMMEMORATION- BULGARIA - PRESIDENT

President Radev Arrives in
Paris for World War One Armistice Day
Centenary Celebration


Paris, November 10 (BTA correspondent Assen Boyadjiev) - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrived in Paris Saturday to join World War One Armistice Day centenary celebration. He told reporters upon arrival that the observances "serve to remind us the bitter lessons of the past century and reconfirm our commitment to dialogue, mutual respect, goodneighbourliness and nonuse of violence as a means of solving differences".

Radev recalled that over 100,000 Bulgarians fell in World War One.

"I believe the war was a child of the clash of an imperialistic attitude, nationalist dreams and economic interests. Unfortunately, a hundred years later these three elements are burgeoning and threaten peace on the continent and across the globe," he said.

The President went on to say that mankind remembers how the political elites ignored the lessons from World War One and signed treaties which opened the door wide to the Second World War.

Asked to comment the idea for joint European armed force, Radev said that many factors are involved here. "If unpredictability and confrontation persist, I believe we will inevitably come to the establishment of European armed forces," he said.

The commemorative ceremony in Paris on November 11 will be attended by heads of international organizations, heads of State and government from over 80 countries around the world, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UNESCO Director-General Odra Azoulay, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

At the Paris Peace Forum, President Radev will deliver an address on the subject of new technologies and their potential to be a factor in deepening political dialogue, economic growth and social cohesion.

Heads of State will visit the "Picasso. Bleu et Rose" exhibition at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and will be received at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron.

President Radev is accompanied by his wife Desislava Radeva. LN/