site.btaUPDATED PM Petkov Asks Coalition Partners to Visit Kyiv

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told NOVA TV here on Friday that he will invite a Bulgarian delegation consisting of representatives of the government coalition parties to visit Kyiv with him in the coming days.

Speaking in Sofia on Thursday at the opening of a photo exhibition on the Ukraine war, arranged in the Bulgarian Parliament's building, visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said it is time Bulgaria made up its mind over whether or not it will send military aid to Ukraine.

On Friday, Petkov stressed that, as a person, he understands Kuleba and believes that providing military assistance to Ukraine would be the right thing to do. However, Petkov said that he is also the Prime Minister and as such he cannot act like he is „the bravest one“, given there are coalition partners with different red lines [concerning whether Bulgaria should send military assistance to Ukraine].

Petkov stated that he will invite representatives of the power-sharing Democratic Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) to go together to Kyiv and make an informed decision transparently.

Democratic Bulgaria insists that Bulgaria should send military-technical assistance to Ukraine while the BSP opposes such a decision.

Petkov voiced hope that Democratic Bulgaria and the BSP will find a common language.

On Wednesday, the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee voted to give the government a mandate to prepare a package of measures for Ukraine including humanitarian, financial and technical aid for defence purposes. Later, it transpired that the matter is not on the agenda of the plenary on Thursday.