site.btaUPDATED Ukrainian FM Raises Issue of Bulgarian Military Assistance to Ukraine

The visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed for the press after meeting with the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee here Wednesday, that during his talks in Sofia he raised the issue of military-technical assistance from Bulgaria for his country. "When it comes to military-technical assistance, I have to have in mind the political situation in your country and leave the matter to the government of Bulgaria," Kuleba said. He added, though, that those who choose not to help Ukraine are helping Russia.

The ruling coalition in Bulgaria is divided over whether or not Bulgaria should send military aid to Ukraine. Democratic Bulgaria has been trying to push through a decision for sending military aid but the Socialists are adamant that it would not help the conflict end sooner and that it would get Bulgaria involved in the war. Democratic Bulgaria, however, believes that the resolution has a chance to go through because the opposition GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms are supportive. Vazrazhdane is against sending military aid.

The draft decision was submitted for debate at the Foreign Policy Committee last week but was dropped from the agenda over technical flaws, and is not included in this week's agenda of the committee either.

Kuleba said that the Bulgarian government and Parliament know very well exactly what Ukraine wants, and that the same list of needs has been presented to all NATO member states.

Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska said that military aid was not discussed when she met with Kuleba but the matter was on the agenda of the meeting with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

Genchovska also said that two draft resolutions for providing military-technical aid have been submitted to Parliament, by Democratic Bulgaria and by the formerly ruling GERB-UDF, and the authors set forth their arguments when they met with the Ukrainian top diplomat. "As of this moment, the matter has not been discussed by the Council of Ministers," said Genchovska. 

Atanas Slavov MP (Democratic Bulgaria) urged considering the resolution as soon as possible. A declaration by his group said that Bulgaria "has a responsibility to consider sending military-technical aid to Ukraine so that Ukrainian people can protect their life, freedom and honour against the Russian aggression". "We cannot take an Easter break with a light heart before we consider the draft resolution for military-technical aid," Slavov said. 

"It is our duty as a State which has embraced democratic and human values, to send any assistance to the people fleeing an aggressor. We believe that Bulgaria will show solidarity and remain true to its historical and civilizational choice," Slavov said.

Slavov told reporters in the corridors of Parliament: "A country is as big as its dignity. Bulgaria is not a small country and how big exactly we are depends on our ability to appreciate the magnitude of the historic moment."

He also said that the sending of military aid was discussed at Kuleba's meeting with MPs earlier on Wednesday. 

Foreign Policy Committee Chair Ventsislava Lyubenova (Continue the Change), however, said that the meeting with Kuleba did not discuss military aid. She called the meeting "very successful". 

In the corridors of Parliament, Continue the Change floor leader Andrey Gurov said that his party will consider the request for military aid after it goes through the competent parliamentary committee.

Atanas Mihnev (Continue the Change) said that his party has been "consistently supporting the Ukrainian people". He disagrees with the argument that sending military aid would involve Bulgaria in the war. "Enough with this pro-Russian rhetoric," he added.

Stanislav Balabanov MP (There Is Such a People) said that Bulgaria should have a single position on what it should be sending to Ukraine. "Not just Parliament but the President and the government as well, must be united and support in detail such a proposal," he said. There Is Such a People will stand behind a common position but first the details must be sorted out.

Kostadin Kostadinov MP (Vazrazhdane) said that the government coalition lacks a concerted position on military aid for Ukraine and Bulgaria is unlikely to send such aid. He said that Bulgaria is already sending aid under the single European mechanism for supporting Ukraine in the war.

Ukrainian FM Meets National Assembly Chair

Meeting Kuleba on Wednesday, National Assembly Chair Nikola Minchev said that Bulgaria will continue within its capabilities to fully support Ukraine and its people.

Minchev noted that the National Assembly approved a declaration already in the first days of the conflict, which condemned Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and supported the imposition of sanctions against the aggressor. Bulgaria closed its airspace to Russian operators and received a large number of Ukrainian refugees, which is thanks to the efforts of the institutions in Bulgaria and also of the Bulgarian society, Minchev said.

He added that Ukraine's future is in the European family and Bulgaria supports its EU perspective. According to him, every country should be free to choose its own future.

Ukrainian MP Anton Kisse, who heads the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine and is now on Kuleba's delegation, said that support for Ukraine is support for the Bulgarian diaspora in the country too. He noted that a lot of Bessarabian Bulgarians had died since the beginning of the war. 

The meeting between Minchev and Kuleba was also attended by Genchovska, Ukrainian Ambassador to Bulgaria Vitalii Moskalenko, and Continue the Change MP Iskren Mitev, Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship group Bulgaria-Ukraine.

BSP Leader Ninova Comments Kuleba's Visit 

Bulgarian Socialist Party leader and Economy and Industry Minister Korneliya Ninova said here Wednesday that she did not participate in the meetings with the visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister, did not know what was discussed with him and was not informed of the talks. Ninova was approached by the press after Kuleba said that the issue of Bulgarian military aid for his country was on the agenda of his Sofia talks.

Ninova said that BSP's position remains "unchanged, consistent, political, approved by all party forums". "We believe that we support peace. Sending weapons means prolonging the war and we want to see an end to the hostilities so that talks can start," said she.