I will run for president. This was what Iliana Yotova said in the studio of "Panorama" on BNT. My candidacy will be nominated by an Initiative Committee, she added.
The support of different people will be important to me, not only people who are famous in the country, but also that majority of Bulgarian citizens who meet me in the store every day and tell me "Madam President, don't give up", explained Yotova. She did not announce the name of her candidate for vice president.
Bulgaria is not involved in a war, Bulgaria is not a party to the conflict in the Middle East, Bulgarian airspace is not given to a foreign power. This is how Iliyana Yotova commented on the decision to deploy American tanker planes in the country at the "Bezmer" base.
"We are not participating with weapons or people. The Bulgarian government acted honestly. In response to the American note, the problem and the case was submitted to the National Assembly for a decision, because this is how it is according to Bulgarian legislation. In the National Assembly, everyone could express their opinion, their point of view, defend their position and vote accordingly. The ruling majority and the government took their responsibility. I want to congratulate all parliamentary groups that stayed to vote and showed their attitude. This is a responsibility. I believe that this is a responsibility to us, the Bulgarian voters. I feel sorry for those who, perhaps, lacked the courage or decided that it was better not to participate in the vote and not to express their position in this way."
Regarding the request to convene a National Security Advisory Council (NSAC), the head of state explained:
"I read Mrs. Nadezhda Yordanova's letter very carefully. I became familiar with her arguments, her expectations, and also with the proposals for the NSAC made by the GERB political party. I am a dialogical person. But at this moment I will convene the Advisory Council under two hypotheses. The first is, we are monitoring very carefully, literally every hour, even shortly before I enter this studio, the situation in the Middle East. If the conflict expands in the coming days, if there is an immediate danger for Bulgaria, as well as for this entire region, if this conflict and its new phase continue long enough and Bulgaria will be, like many other countries, with severe consequences, if you will, even for prices, for fuels, migration processes, yes, this really deserves a well-prepared Advisory Council in which everyone can gather."
Iliyana Yotova added that before a possible convening of the CSNS she would like to hold talks with the parliamentary forces.
"For me, the Advisory Council is a place for consensus and a place for a horizon. And Bulgaria has long needed a new security strategy. Even the one we have had up to this point is already infinitely outdated. Everything around us is so dynamic, the challenges are so strong. We have two conflicts - the Middle East and Ukraine. Bulgaria must position itself extremely correctly, specifically, and any government thereafter must adhere to this framework, because Bulgaria must be a predictable country, as indeed is the case with the issue of airplanes."