"Did you see Minister Petrova's signature under the declaration? There is no signature, and you will not see such a signature". This was said by Prime Minister Rumen Radev about the fact that Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova did not sign a declaration to commit Bulgaria to strengthening its participation in the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" for Ukraine., quoted by novini.bg.
"Minister Petrova went to Ukraine to continue bilateral talks with President Zelensky - he requested three meetings within the framework of various international events requested by him. The topics are in the field of energy and economy. There were also talks with "Naftogaz" - with great perspective and potential."
"There is no contradiction in the government regarding the war in Ukraine, nor has the Foreign Minister signed the declaration. She was invited to attend the official holiday of Ukraine," Radev said on the sidelines of the parliament.
"Especially at the meeting in Ankara, the issue of importing large quantities of natural gas was raised - Ukraine sees Bulgaria as a very important partner."
"Bulgaria is part of the common European solutions, but Bulgaria will not and does not provide weapons and financial resources. We continue to develop our relations with Ukraine where we consider it appropriate."
Budget 2026
"The most important thing is that the budget 2026 reveals the whole truth about the state's finances. We are stepping on solid ground and introducing rules for financial discipline. What weighs on the deficit is that we have to clear all old payments, and there are many of them. When we talk about capital expenditures, these are old payments that we must finally clear."
"Yesterday I also spoke with the Minister of Finance and in 2027 we will still pay for contracts concluded, activities carried out, but not yet paid. But I believe that we will really do so with the appropriate financial discipline, with tightening spending, without stifling the economy, without harming all workers, without reducing social spending, without in any case freezing pensions. We should move forward and reduce the deficit. When they say that there is a freeze in current spending, it is not true. We have a serious increase for people with disabilities, these are many, many millions. Check out how much extra is given for personal assistants. Pensions increased by 7.8%. Salaries this year increased by 5% and many other increases."