Iran has become a leading topic in the National Assembly immediately before the summer vacation of the deputies. The reason for the political dispute was the deployment of American aircraft for mid-air refueling at the "Bezmer" airbase, as well as the conversation between Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova and her Iranian counterpart.
„This is a war that has nothing to do with international law“. He stated this in the "Interview in NOVA News" foreign policy analyst and diplomat Lyubomir Kyuchukov, quoted by novini.bg.
According to him, Bulgaria does not become a participant in the military actions, “but becomes a party to the conflict“.
According to Kyuchukov, the subsequent political debate was dominated by domestic political confrontations, rather than a real analysis of the foreign policy consequences. He expressed the opinion that “there is no Bulgarian government that would refuse the US“, emphasizing that despite NATO's lack of commitment to this conflict, serious political pressure was exerted on European countries.
He also commented on the fears that Bulgaria could become a party to the conflict. According to him, this does not mean an immediate military threat. “It is not dangerous in the sense that bombs will start falling tomorrow. At least because Iran is in no way interested in entering into a direct military conflict with NATO countries“, he pointed out.
Regarding Bulgaria's refusal to join the so-called Coalition of the Willing in Support of Ukraine, Kyuchukov noted that the cases are different. According to him, this coalition “is in practice a structure that bypasses the European Union and NATO“, and in a broader geopolitical plan Europe is seeking a balance in its relations with the United States.
Commenting on the development of the war with Iran, he pointed out that the initial goals have remained in the background. “The motives with which the war was started - Iran's nuclear program and possible regime change - have faded into the background. Now the main problems are two others created by the war itself - Hormuz and Lebanon,“ he said.
According to him, the future of the conflict depends mostly on Washington.
“The continuation of the war is in the hands of the US. But the conditions for peace are increasingly in the hands of Iran,“ said Kyuchukov, arguing his thesis with Tehran's influence on the Strait of Hormuz and global energy supplies.
The conversation also touched on the situation in Gaza after the information that an agreement had been reached to disarm "Hamas" and transition to civilian rule. According to Kyuchukov, the agreement is only the first step and its implementation remains questionable.
The diplomat also drew attention to the difficulties surrounding the creation of international stabilization forces, as well as the lack of sufficient funding for the Peace Council. In his words, “of the $17 billion requested, only $23 million has been raised so far“, which casts doubt on the practical implementation of the agreed measures.
“The positive thing is that there is a commitment from all participants to bring this to an end. The problem is that it is still not clear how the two sides will manage to combine their interests“, he said, adding that the upcoming elections in Israel will also have an impact on the development of the peace process. “Nothing happens so quickly in the Middle East“, Kyuchukov pointed out.