site.btaPresident Radev to Foreign Ambassadors: Bulgaria Firmly Upholds Western Balkans as Priority

Sofia, January 29 (BTA) - President Rumen Radev gave a traditional start-of-year reception for the leaders of diplomatic missions in Bulgaria at the National History Museum in Sofia Monday. In his speech, the head of State said that his country firmly upholds the Western Balkans as its priority during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council.

"If we do not turn Europe's attention to this region, Europe cannot be united, safe and stable. The European calling of the Western Balkan countries is not up for debate at all, but when we hold this debate it should be clear that the evaluation is based on each country's individual achievements," Radev said.

In his words, Bulgaria should initiate and moderate important debates aimed at achieving consensus and rational decisions on many important topics on Europe's agenda. "The values we follow are solidarity, political unity, and security. Also important for the Union is the reduction of the differences in economic development and standard of living between the East and the West, the North and the South," Radev noted.

In the President's words, one of the big challenges is to seek balance in the simultaneous placement on the table between the EU's strategic long-term priorities and matters that cannot be postponed, such as the migration crisis, the protection of the Union's external borders, the debate on the Multiannual Financial Framework, the decreasing budget as a result of Brexit and how it will be balanced so that the EU's social policies and security would not be affected.

The head of State noted that Bulgaria presiding over the EU Council does not mean that the agenda of this country's foreign policy will be dominated completely by the EU Presidency. Bulgaria's strategic partnership with the USA and the interaction within NATO continue to be a corner-stone of the country's security. The projects linked to European defence and the Permanent Structured Cooperation should not repeat but complement the capabilities generated within NATO, Radev noted.

In his words, over the past year he has followed the clear understanding that Bulgaria's foreign policy should be formulated in Sofia and be based on openness, adherence to principle and predictability so as to win friends and partners anywhere in the world. "This is the basis on which our relations with all other countries should develop, with a focus on: the EU's big neighbours on which our common security depends; Russia, to which we are linked through close historical, cultural and spiritual ties; countries such as India, China, Brazil and many other countries from Asia, Latin America and Africa with big investment potential and developing economies. A special focus should be placed on the states with which we until recently had very active political and trade and economic relations: it is our duty to jointly restore and further develop these beneficial relations from the past," Radev told his guests.

The President also mentioned the serious crises in the Middle East the solution to which, in his words, requires collective approaches to be sought. As an external border of the EU, Bulgaria is strongly interested in the quick resolution of the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, the normalization of the Qatar-Gulf relations, the termination of what remains of the Islamic State, and Iraq's stabilization, Radev said. He recalled Bulgaria's active participation in the stabilization of Afghanistan.

The head of State also recalled that this year his country marks the 75th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews in World War II. It is important to mark this anniversary in such a way that the international community would learn more about this unique feat of Bulgarian society in some of Europe's darkest years, Radev said. "Let us inform this community in such a way that acts of xenophobia, hate speech and antisemitism never again be able to determine the atmosphere in which we live," he added.

In his speech, the doyen of the diplomatic corps, Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed Al Madbuh, congratulated the foreign ambassadors to Bulgaria on the new year.