site.btaForeign Ministry: No Direct Military Threat to Bulgaria at This Stage

Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev told a briefing at the Foreign Ministry on Friday: "The latest news from Moscow is not very good, it points to escalation, and coupled with the current nuclear rhetoric and the so-called 'referendums', these rather alarming events reinforce the need for a firm consistent support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity." He was commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of partial mobilization.

Kodzhabashev said that the Foreign Ministry had been following very closely the Ukraine-Russia conflict and that all the competent institutions were involved in this process. "We are working constantly in unison with our NATO Allies and EU partners," he said.

Kodzhabashev recalled Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov's statement on the partial mobilization in Russia and concurred that there is no concrete military threat to Bulgaria at this stage.

Regarding the "referendums" on annexation to Russia of Donetsk, Luhansk and parts of the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya, Kodzhabashev said they were the latest attempt to violate Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They will not be recognized internationally. They are just an attempt at legitimating Russia's military invasion and at changing the internationally recognized borders by force, which will further exacerbate the conflict, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.