site.btaUPDATED Foreign Ministry: "B9 Summit Chairs' Statement Fully Consistent with Bulgaria's Positions"

In a position published on its website on Wednesday, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry stated that a passage in the Chairs' Statement of the June 11, 2024 Bucharest 9 (B9) Summit in Riga, saying that "we are committed to continue and enhance our broad support, including by military, financial or humanitarian means, to Ukrainians", is "fully consistent with our positions in support of the collective nature of aid for Ukraine in all areas listed." The statement points out that in the said passage "and" was replaced with "or" on a proposal by President Rumen Radev.

The position points out that "in the course of the discussions Bulgaria stood up for its consistent national positions and commitments voiced at various NATO levels and formats on the matters dealt with in the [Chairs'] Statement." The Ministry sees this as a step in line with the preparation of a decision on a more solid and predictable framework of Allied support for Ukraine. "At this critical point, the NATO Allies are seeking more effective ways to consolidate aid for Ukraine, including by setting up a predictable, long-term and coherent mechanism and a fair sharing of burdens and responsibilities among the Allies," the position reads.  

The Ministry specified that a possible joint statement had been discussed in the course of preparations for the summit. "As one [B9] member country other than Bulgaria expressed reservations, it was decided to come up with a statement on behalf of the three chairs: Poland, Romania and Latvia. The content of this statement is based on the texts on which agreement had been reached in the course of the discussions. At the same time, we note that statements in this format of a political nature, they express common positions and cannot be treated as binding," the Foreign Ministry in Sofia stated. 

Wednesday's position comes in the wake of a statement that Bulgarian President made to the media after taking part in the B9 Summit in Riga.

"The initial proposal for a version of a joint statement that included an obligation for each B-9 country to provide military assistance [to Ukraine] was modified at my express insistence," Radev said. "As a result, a position was adopted for each country to decide on its own whether and how to aid Ukraine: by military, financial or humanitarian support," the head of State added.