There is only one solution to ensure that these attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea will finally stop. This is a ceasefire and sitting at the table for peace negotiations. This was stated by Prime Minister Rumen Radev to the media in response to journalistic questions.
The Prime Minister announced that the drone video image and all the facts have already been shared with our allies and all possible expert assessments are currently being carried out. “I expect that we will finally have an answer and clear proof of who is carrying out these attacks“, Rumen Radev said.
The Prime Minister stated that Bulgaria is taking initiatives at the international and regional level on these cases and the issue has been raised with the UN Secretary General, the NATO Secretary General, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, as well as with the countries of the region. Everything that has been done so far, plus the full mobilization of the capabilities of our Armed Forces and the capabilities of the allies, we have already used all the possibilities, the Prime Minister emphasized.
Rumen Radev also pointed out that even if it has the capabilities to influence outside its territorial waters, Bulgaria's actions are limited by international law and the country cannot take actions outside them in violation of the established rules.
The Prime Minister announced that allied patrol aircraft are already working in coordination with the Bulgarian command centers and information is being exchanged. A French patrol aircraft detected the drones about half an hour before the strike on the “CONTSHIP JET“ and provided information about their direction of movement, which allowed the crew of the attacked ship to evacuate.
The Prime Minister also emphasized that the Bulgarian Air Force was ready to send aircraft from the air base near Balchik to take action against the drones if they entered the country's territorial waters, but this did not happen. The weapons available to NATO are located from the Baltic Sea across the land to the Black Sea, but there is also a limit. So everything possible is being done, but the only one hundred percent guarantee for stopping the attacks on merchant ships is a ceasefire and political will for dialogue, Rumen Radev emphasized.
The Prime Minister once again expressed his position that the European Union and NATO should direct their efforts to support dialogue and peace negotiations and pointed to the initiatives in this direction launched by the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a positive sign.
In response to a journalist's question whether the Russian origin of the drones would be summoned for a conversation if the Russian origin of the drones was proven, the Prime Minister stated that Bulgaria would react immediately upon establishing their origin. “Categorically. If it is proven what origin these drones are, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will officially summon any ambassador to hand him a protest note“, Rumen Radev said.
In response to a journalistic question regarding headlines from Romanian websites distributed in some Bulgarian media, in which Prime Minister Radev's statement during the Sofia Economic Forum was criticized, the Prime Minister said that he had not read the headlines in Romanian media, but they most likely reflect speculation, a misunderstanding or a loss in the translation of his words.
Politicians in Bulgaria are diligently instilling the thesis that, you see, if we blame Russia as the source of the attack and wag a finger, this will protect us, but reality refutes it, the Prime Minister pointed out. He added that Romania stated that the drones were Russian, but this did not protect it. “The next day, drones sank a ship, and in its territorial waters“, Rumen Radev also noted. Therefore, the Bulgarian Prime Minister's position is that stopping the attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea requires stopping military actions between Russia and Ukraine and achieving sustainable peace.
In response to a journalist's question, Prime Minister Radev also said that the Council of Ministers will implement the decisions of the Central Election Commission and the court regarding the reports of election campaigning. The CEC has already decided that the Prime Minister has not committed such an administrative violation.