At its sitting on Thursday, the National Assembly voted, 175-49 with one abstention, to give the Council of Ministers one month to table in Parliament a draft resolution on rendering military and military-technical assistance to Ukraine. The assistance will be Bulgaria's contribution to the common efforts of the international community to support the victims of the aggression, taking into consideration this country's capabilities and guaranteeing the population's security and defence.
The decision was supported by GERB-UDF, Continue the Change, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), Democratic Bulgaria, and Bulgarian Rise. Against were the MPs of BSP for Bulgaria and Vazrazhdane.
Under the decision, the Council of Ministers also has one month to hold negotiations with the governments and allies in NATO on the acquisition, provision or deployment of capacity that replaces or strengthens the country's defence capabilities, which would allow an accelerated release of the outdated Soviet arms and equipment.
The Council of Ministers has until November 10 to undertake all necessary actions on declaring Bulgaria's readiness to contribute to the EU's mission in support of Ukraine. Within the EU's common efforts, the Cabinet has to identify and propose to Parliament a package of measures for interacting with and supporting Ukraine in the restoration of its economy, infrastructure, and energy sector.
The Government has to support Ukraine's case filed against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights and join Ukraine's case against the Russian Federation before the International Court of Justice. Also, the Council of Ministers has to support the international community's efforts to investigate the war crimes committed by the Russian army on Ukrainian territory, the MPs decided.
Caretaker Defence Minister Says Proposal Will Be Very Conservative
The Defence Ministry will write its homework in conformity with Parliament's decision and its proposal will be very conservative, caretaker Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters after the vote. He attended the debate but left the plenary chamber before the actual vote.
He specified that this conservatism stems from Article 9 of the Constitution, which reads that the Armed Forces guarantee the security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bulgaria, and from Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which reads that every country will maintain and develop its individual capacity to resist armed attack.
The Parliamentary Debate
The MPs took three hours to debate the decision for sending military aid to Ukraine. The debate centred round the condition of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, their combat worthiness and the options for rearmament. Here is a soundbite:
Kristian Vigenin, BSP for Bulgaria: A war coalition is born today, and sooner or later it will have a grave political price that will have to be paid. It is an ill-advised and politically motivated decision lacking a risk assessment.
Korneliya Ninova, BSP for Bulgaria floor leader: We believe that providing arms to any of the warring parties is not conducive to peace. We are consistently in favour of ending the conflict and seeking a peaceful solution.
Angel Georgiev, Vazrazhdane: The Euro-Atlantic mob in Parliament is trying to get Bulgaria involved in a conflict, which is a huge diplomatic and foreign policy blunder.
Atanas Slavov, Democratic Bulgaria: Democratic Bulgaria tabled the draft decision with the clear awareness that we are very late lining up along our allies and partners in NATO and the EU in providing military support for Ukraike. It is also a decision for strengthening Bulgaria’s defence capabilities. Supporting Ukraine, we fulfill our international duty because the UN Charter clearly says that a country that has been attacked in a war of aggression has the right to defend itself and the civilized world has the right to help it drive away the aggressor.
Kremena Kuneva of Democratic Bulgaria read out a letter from ethnic Bulgarians in Ukraine to the Bulgarian Parliament, President and Prime Minister, urging them to make sure Bulgaria makes the right decision and provides military support for Ukraine.
Georgi Georgiev, GERB-UDF: The decision is important for restoring the image of Bulgaria. This country now has a chance to show a face that best matches its essence: the face of a geostrategic and geopolitical player in this part of Europe, that has consistent civilizational positions. The very existence of Ukraine is now threatened and we are speaking of a risk of extermination of the Ukrainian people, of the death of innocent people, including children, every day.
Stefan Yanev, Bulgarian Rise floor leader: The decision is something of a political declaration about the attitude of this country to the global affairs, the UN principles, an aggressor country and a country that is the victim of aggression. It also reconfirms our solidarity with the partners in NATO and the EU, and the people of Ukraine.
Daniel Lorer, Continue the Change (reacting to the argument that sending military aid to Ukraine will undermine the combat worthiness of the Bulgarian armed forces): It is pure cynicism to maintain last-century weapons, Soviet-made, and insist that you want a combat-worthy Bulgarian army to take care of our security.
Djeyhan Ibryamov, MRF: Bulgaria had to join the processes, spearheaded by the EU, of supporting Ukraine. The crucial question remains when the war will end. For us in MRF, it is important to see the triumph of peace, and it is achieved through dialogue, diplomacy and negotiations.
/MY/
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