site.btaPresident Radev Comments on War in Ukraine

Diplomacy should take precedence over bombs and missiles, rather than merely cushioning the aftermath, Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev said here on Wednesday. He was speaking at a lecture on the prospects and challenges facing young people held at the University of National and World Economy.

The head of State took questions from students, including about the war in Ukraine and the developments in the Middle East.

“I am convinced that hostilities can be halted if there is strong political will and diplomacy takes the lead rather than ambitious politicians and generals. A key principle of diplomacy is to prevent conflict. We have been increasingly violating this principle in recent years. I believe this is due to the fact that life has ceased to be a core human value,” the head of State said.

Radev said that so far, only military and economic tools have been employed, with diplomacy largely sidelined. “Even Ukraine adopted a law in the early months of the war banning negotiations with the opposing side. Now, however, Ukraine is turning to diplomacy and negotiations,” Radev said.

The President said that “an infinite number of wrong strategic decisions have been made in the war in Ukraine, leading to nearly a million dead and maimed”. “The first strategic mistake was made by Russia. They underestimated the will of the Ukrainian people to resist and fight for their freedom,” he added.

Among other strategic mistakes, Radev cited “the assumption that the Russian economy would collapse under the pressure of sanctions and the claim that Russia had run out of missiles and shells.” “The NATO Secretary General has recently admitted that Russia has upped its production of ammunition and military equipment by three or four times,” the President said.

Radev referred to diplomat Henry Kissinger’s proposal for ending the war made early on in the conflict. Kissinger suggested that ceding land could bring an end to the war. “The rest of Ukraine could remain a free, democratic state, a member of the European Union and NATO,” Radev quoted the diplomat as saying. Kissinger was heavily criticized at the time, but now everyone is reconsidering his plan," Radev argued.