Bulgarian President: Build us "Bulgarian Stream"
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev gave an interview to the Russian edition of Kommersant. The interview is timed to the visit of Radev to Russia. It is noteworthy that the upcoming meeting will be the first for the presidents of Bulgaria and the Russian Federation for 10 years. Earlier, the Bulgarian leaders preferred the “correspondence” version of communication, taking into account the fact that they themselves acted as the talking heads of the bureaucracy of the European Union.
According to Rumen Radev, one of the issues he plans to raise at a meeting with Vladimir Putin will be the question of economic cooperation between the two countries. The President of Bulgaria noted that the issue is extremely relevant in connection with the current anti-Russian sanctions. Radev reminded that Bulgaria turned out to be one of the few countries of the European Union that did not send Russian diplomats at the direction of London in connection with the so-called “Skripal case”.
Rumen Radev in interview He noted that no sanctions are everlasting, on the assumption that they are detrimental not only to the country in respect of which they are imposed, but also to the country that introduces or supports such sanctions.
At the same time, the Bulgarian president noted that Bulgaria, as a member of NATO, was forced to comply with a number of obligations: in particular, the obligations that the country would not buy Russian military equipment. Radev said that Bulgaria is counting on upgrading the MiG-29 fighter jets that are in service, but it will not be able to buy new aircraft from the Russian Federation.
Rumen Radev added that cooperation on gas supplies from Russia would be an ideal option for the Bulgarian economy. directly. According to the head of state, official Sofia is interested in turning the country into an energy center in the south-east of the EU.
Radev:
At the same time, Radev did not specify how he imagines the implementation of this “project”, given that the Bulgarian authorities had previously agreed with the opinion of Brussels that the country did not need the South Stream gas pipeline.
Radev also stated that he intends to raise the issue of the construction of Belene NPP, the termination of which by individual politicians in the country was exposed almost as a big victory.
For your information:: Major General Rumen Radev served as Commander of the Bulgarian Air Force from 2014 to 2016. He studied at the University of the Air Force named after G. Benkovsky (Bulgaria), and then he graduated from the Maxwell officer school (USA). In presidential position since January 2017.
According to Rumen Radev, one of the issues he plans to raise at a meeting with Vladimir Putin will be the question of economic cooperation between the two countries. The President of Bulgaria noted that the issue is extremely relevant in connection with the current anti-Russian sanctions. Radev reminded that Bulgaria turned out to be one of the few countries of the European Union that did not send Russian diplomats at the direction of London in connection with the so-called “Skripal case”.
Rumen Radev in interview He noted that no sanctions are everlasting, on the assumption that they are detrimental not only to the country in respect of which they are imposed, but also to the country that introduces or supports such sanctions.
At the same time, the Bulgarian president noted that Bulgaria, as a member of NATO, was forced to comply with a number of obligations: in particular, the obligations that the country would not buy Russian military equipment. Radev said that Bulgaria is counting on upgrading the MiG-29 fighter jets that are in service, but it will not be able to buy new aircraft from the Russian Federation.
Rumen Radev added that cooperation on gas supplies from Russia would be an ideal option for the Bulgarian economy. directly. According to the head of state, official Sofia is interested in turning the country into an energy center in the south-east of the EU.
Radev:
I believe that Bulgaria needs direct gas supplies from the Russian Federation through the Black Sea. Call it the "Bulgarian stream."
At the same time, Radev did not specify how he imagines the implementation of this “project”, given that the Bulgarian authorities had previously agreed with the opinion of Brussels that the country did not need the South Stream gas pipeline.
Radev also stated that he intends to raise the issue of the construction of Belene NPP, the termination of which by individual politicians in the country was exposed almost as a big victory.
For your information:: Major General Rumen Radev served as Commander of the Bulgarian Air Force from 2014 to 2016. He studied at the University of the Air Force named after G. Benkovsky (Bulgaria), and then he graduated from the Maxwell officer school (USA). In presidential position since January 2017.
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