site.btaPresident Radev Praises Statehood and Independence

On Sunday, 116 years since Bulgaria declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire, President Rumen Radev wrote in a Facebook post: "Today, our people commemorate the work of a generation for whom statehood and its independence were the highest values".

"Driven by the conviction that only an independent Bulgaria can be truly free, 116 years ago in the old capital of Veliko Tarnovo, our ancestors rejected the vassalage of our country to the Ottoman Empire and strengthened the Bulgarians' faith in our own power. This historical act bequeathed us an invaluable lesson still relevant today - the defence of Bulgarian national interests, and not the resignation and blind following of someone else's will, is the way for the dignified development of Bulgaria," Radev wrote.

On Sunday, Veliko Tarnovo, North-central Bulgaria, be the centre of celebrations for 116 years of Independence.