„B9 is extremely important for us because it serves to advance the interests of Eastern Europe within NATO from the point of view of security and foreign politics. Viktor Orbán appeared with a different position, then the form was referred to as B8. After Fizo's return, it was even B7 for a while. Our president joined this chorus of skeptics in B9 - those who respect Russia's interests to a greater extent, said former Defense Minister Todor Tagarev in the program "Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov".
According to Tagarev, President Rumen Radev is very consistent. “Since 2022, he sometimes expresses his positions more clearly and publicly, other times there are certain periods when we do not hear them. The problem for Bulgaria is that it is not Radev who has the right to express the foreign policy position, according to our Constitution, this is a commitment of the Council of Ministers, he was categorical.
Tagarev also commented on the situation in Ukraine. “Let me note that from an external political point of view, the past week has been extremely successful for Ukraine. It started with Zelensky's visit to Normandy, you may remember that Putin used to go to these events, but now no one invites him. Zelensky went and met with Biden and Macron too. It continued with the G7 meeting, followed by the bilateral agreement with the USA. The reconstruction conference in Berlin ended with this peace conference in Switzerland”, the former minister pointed out.
Tagarev specified that support for Ukraine has been extended beyond the European Union, NATO, Japan, Australia and South Korea.
For the first time, there was no joint declaration between the leaders at the B9 format meeting. On Friday, Vladimir Putin made a new proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, this time demanding the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from five areas that Moscow has unilaterally recognized as its own. But despite the almost two and a half years of occupation, Russia does not fully control these areas.