site.btaPM Petkov in Kyiv: Bulgaria Will Not Be Indifferent to This Tragedy

Speaking to journalists in Kyiv on Thursday, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that Bulgaria "will not be indifferent to this tragedy"; the country has a clear position as a part of the democratic world and the EU. "We will stand by Ukraine because this is not just Ukraine's fight but a civilizational choice," he added. 

Petkov also commented on the discontinuation of Russia's gas supplies to Bulgaria as of April 27. "We were ready with a strategy as early as in February. We had alternative [gas] sources, we had agreed with neighbouring countries and we knew the exact quantities," he told journalists. In his words, Bulgaria will not pay in rubles for the Russian gas and will not pay to countries that are not parties to a contract. 

Petkov is in Kyiv as head of a Bulgarian government delegation, which includes Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov, MPs Kaloyan Ikonomov (Continue the Change), Stanislav Balabanov (There Is Such a People) and Atanas Atanassov (Democratic Bulgaria), and the Foreign Ministry's Situation Centre Director Anton Markov. On Petkov's agenda is a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.