site.btaPM Petkov, President Zelenskyy Talk Black Sea Shipping and Security

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Ukrainain President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that they discussed shipping and security in the Black Sea late on Monday.

Petkov wrote: "I expressed solidarity and support for Ukraine, for talks on its EU accession. I also reaffirmed the importance of sanctions against Russia."

For his part, Zelenskyy said: "I thanked for [Sofia's] support for Ukraine, more specifically for its accession to the EU, as well as for the firm position in favour of sanctions against Russia." 

The two officials posted about their conversation a few hours after most Bulgarian crew members of the Tzarevna ship returned after being stranded in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol since the start of the war. They were flown by the Bulgarian government airplane and welcomed at the Varna Airport by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is in Sofia for talks with Petkov and other officials on Tuesday.