site.btaUPDATED PM Petkov Participates in EU Leaders' Joint Session with US President Biden in Brussels

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov took part in a joint summit of EU leaders with US President Joe Biden, which takes place in Brussels during the regular European Council meeting. The focus of the discussion is providing support for Ukraine and the strengthening of transatlantic cooperation in response to the Russian aggression, the press service of the Council of Ministers in Sofia said.  

Bulgaria's position is that the war, led by Russia against Ukraine, is a huge conflict with significant global consequences. Petkov believes that the EU and NATO member states should continue to be united and determined in their common response to unprovoked Russian aggression.

International support for Ukraine's sustainability should continue. Bulgaria has a priority to deliver the necessary humanitarian aid and unimpeded access of war refugees to safe haven. The country has already received over 50,000 Ukrainians. Bulgaria is one of the countries that most quickly created an operational coordination group and sectoral units to deal with the situation.

Petkov said in a Facebook post that corruption is one of the instruments used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to exert influence in Bulgaria. He gave as an example the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, where three billion leva of Bulgarian money were spent on the construction of a foreign pipeline. Petkov said he discussed this with U.S. President Biden Thursday evening.

He told journalists in Brussels on Friday that the main goal is to focus on fuel prices. "It's very important that we try to negotiate together, in the same voice, so that we bring those prices down, as they impact all other prices," he said. "We all realize that this dependence is a national security threat," Petkov commented the energy supplies from Russia. The Bulgarian Prime Minister said he has once again discussed with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis the construction of the natural gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece. According to Petkov, Mitsotakis has started working on this issue, which is a priority in bilateral relations at this time.

Petkov thanked all Bulgarians who came out to a peaceful demonstration Thursday evening in support of Ukraine. Bulgaria must also speak clearly, not just the politicians, that its people support Ukraine, he said.

Petkov noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in an interview that Bulgaria is among the countries that express the most support for Ukraine. "Bulgaria was clearly included among the countries that support Ukraine and he thanked us," Petkov said.