Andrey Gyurov expressed his position yesterday regarding Rumen Radev's position and his theses on European support for Ukraine and the risk of escalation. Gyurov emphasized the importance of European and Euro-Atlantic unity for Bulgaria's security and called on the incumbent Bulgarian president to clearly state his position.
The full text of Andrey Gyurov's position:
„Peace requires security guarantees, not retreat in the face of fear.
Rumen Radev's interview raises an important question about the direction of European and Bulgarian security policy.
When talking about “border” of support for Ukraine, the need not to “press” Russia and the risk of nuclear escalation, this is no longer just a conversation about the war in Ukraine. This is a conversation about how we understand the security of Europe and Bulgaria.
Our position is clear: we all want peace. The question is what kind of peace guarantees the security of Bulgaria and Europe.
Diplomacy is necessary. But it is not an alternative to deterrence and alliances. Diplomacy has power when it is backed by the unity of Europe, NATO's ability to deter and the readiness to defend our national interest.
We cannot accept the logic that the greater the threat of escalation, including nuclear, the more Europe must limit its own security. The nuclear threat cannot be an argument for political retreat.
For Bulgaria, this has direct relevance. We are a country in the EU and NATO, on the Black Sea and on the eastern flank of the Alliance. European solidarity and NATO unity are not foreign policy that we observe from the sidelines. They are part of Bulgaria's national security.
That is why it is important for the Bulgarian president to clearly state his position.
Does he share the thesis that European support for Ukraine should have a “limit“, determined by the fear of Russian escalation? Does he believe that the nuclear risk should define the boundaries of European security policy? And does he believe that Bulgaria's security is guaranteed through stronger European and Euro-Atlantic unity?
Bulgaria should not be placed between Europe and Russia.
Bulgaria should be in Europe and NATO not as an observer, but as a country that participates in making decisions about its own security.
Peace is a goal. Real and sustainable peace is achieved with security guarantees, not with threats.“