The European Commission confirmed that Bulgaria joined the joint statement on Ukraine presented on September 23, 2026, in New York, ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council.
This became clear from the written response by European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas dated November 6. It was given in response to a question from Bulgarian MEPs Radan Kanev, Nikola Minchev and Hristo Petrov.
Kallas presented the statement on behalf of the European Union, its 27 member states and partner countries. It calls on Russia to end its aggression against Ukraine, accept an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and engage in negotiations for a just and lasting peace.
This is the other main focus of the joint position presented ahead of the UN Security Council meeting.
Discrepancy between the institutions
The question from the three MEPs followed conflicting signals from Bulgarian institutions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Bulgaria had joined the statement.
President Iliana Iotova, however, distanced herself from the text and stated that the proposals put forward by the Bulgarian side had not been accepted. The dispute reached the National Assembly, where „Democratic Bulgaria“ called for the foreign minister to be questioned.
The MEPs wanted to know through which official channel Bulgaria’s support had been confirmed and whether reservations had been expressed or amendments proposed during the coordination process. They also requested information about the content of any such proposals and how they had been considered.
In her response, Kaja Kallas referred these questions to the competent Bulgarian authorities. Thus, the European Commission confirms Bulgaria’s accession to the joint statement, but leaves it to the Bulgarian authorities to clarify the procedure, the country’s position during the coordination process, and the reasons for the discrepancy between the state’s support and the president’s subsequent distancing.
Sources: nova.bg, novini.bg