The Deputy Director of the European Council on Foreign Policy Vesela Cherneva expressed concerns that Bulgaria is “entering the rut of Russian instructions“, which does not look good at all in the eyes of our European partners. Her statement is due to the efforts our country made to prevent the inclusion of Russian Patriarch Kirill in the 21st package of EU sanctions against Russia.
“A rut in which Bulgaria does not look good. We are talking about the rut of Russian instructions, and Orban was doing the same. This is a symbolic test from the Russian side“, Cherneva explained in the morning block of BNT, quoted by novini.bg
She emphasized that the sanctions against Moscow are yielding results, pointing out that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Russian state to export its energy resources, in addition to the Ukrainian attacks on the country's oil and processing infrastructure.
“The economic weakening of Russia will lead to a weakening of its military ambition. We are talking about a military economy that has reached a point where it stops producing funds for the budget. The attacks on Russia's energy facilities do not allow it to sell as much gas and oil, and therefore less revenue comes from it“, she added.
As for Bulgaria's absence from the forum of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing“ in Paris, Vesela Cherneva stated that the question of where we stand and what the price for this is will yet be raised. She specified that the overall concept of European security is being discussed at this forum and that our country's absence from such a debate is certainly not a good signal and added that it remains to be seen how long the Bulgarian state will continue to remain on the periphery of European security policy.
In turn, diplomat Lyubomir Kyuchukov also commented on the 21st package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, noting that Bulgaria has expressed its position on the subject for the first time, although he expressed doubt that Russian Patriarch Kirill is the main problem of Bulgarian foreign policy.
Regarding the sanctions themselves, he pointed out that they cause damage to the Russian economy, but are not capable of ending the war.
“Sanctions do not stop a war, diplomatic solutions must be sought to end it“, Kyuchukov emphasized.
Regarding the conflict itself, the expert explained that there is currently a stalemate, expressed in the exchange of strikes and damage between Russia and Ukraine, which does not bring anything positive for either Kiev or Moscow. In this context, he expressed absolute confidence that Ukraine is receiving logistical assistance from the United States and other countries for its strikes against Russian oil refineries.
„When we talk about the United States and its role, they are not a mediator in the negotiations, but a participant because of their interests in the region“, the diplomat explained.
He nevertheless recalled that the conflict in Ukraine is not a priority for Washington, since at the moment the attention of the United States is focused almost entirely on the war against Iran, for which time the paradox was noted that „we are observing a war against the backdrop of a truce“.