site.btaPresident Radev: Joining Deal for 1 Mln Artillery Rounds for Ukraine Will Be a Mistake

If Bulgaria joins the deal for providing 1 million artillery rounds to Ukraine, it will be a mistake, President Radev told journalists after the opening of the three-day forum Green Week 2023. The forum is dedicated to the green transition in Central and Eastern European countries, energy connectivity, green funding and innovations.

“While I represented Bulgaria on the Council of the European Union, I stood by this position. It was clear that Bulgaria is nor part of the initiative. If the government decides to join the deal, I think it will be a mistake,” said the head of State. “You see that the conflict is escalating, it carries huge risks and is draining our economies and social systems, said Radev.

“Both in Bulgaria and in Brussels I stood by the view that Bulgaria should not get involved in the war in Ukraine by providing armament. This is not the way to end the conflict,” said the President.

Bulgarian Defence Minister Todor Tagarev told "Politico" that Bulgaria is looking to step up its support for EU efforts to supply Ukraine with the ammunition it needs to continue fighting Moscow’s troops.

In May EU countries finalized a deal to send 1 million 155-millimeter shells and missiles to Kyiv by March next year, agreeing to give ammunition immediately from their own stockpiles and for member states to get partial reimbursement for their efforts. They agreed EUR 1 billion for this part of the plan, and another EUR 1 billion for a joint procurement scheme to provide rounds to Ukraine and refill their stocks. The Commission also proposed a EUR 500 million initiative to boost Europe’s ability to manufacture arms and meet these targets, "Politico" writes.

As part of this push, the European Defense Agency (EDA) launched a project for member states to jointly procure the rounds of ammo, either to refill their stocks or to send them to Ukraine. So far, Bulgaria has been one of only two EU countries — militarily neutral Ireland is the other — to not join the EDA scheme, according to "Politico".