Bulgaria insists that Russia unconditionally withdraw all its forces and military equipment from the sovereign territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, deputy foreign minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev told the United Nations General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Bulgaria believes in the principles of full compliance with international law and in holding the aggressor accountable, Kodzhabashev said.
He was speaking ahead of a UN General Assembly vote on February 23 that approved a resolution calling for Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine” and calling for a cessation of hostilities.
The results were 141 UN member states in favour and seven against – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria. Among the 32 abstentions were China, India, Pakistan and South Africa.
Separately, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said on February 24 that acting Foreign Minister Nikolai Milev had sent a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in which he reaffirmed the consistent and categorical position of the Republic of Bulgaria regarding the strong support for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including territorial waters, as well as for its European future.
The We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria electoral coalition issued a joint declaration marking the February 24 anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying that they would defend Bulgaria’s position as a loyal member of Nato and the EU and would make every effort to guarantee the provision of military-technical assistance to Ukraine.
They said that they would support Ukraine in its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, and would insist on the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute the crimes of the political and military leadership of Russia and its allies, and as a top priority in their governance program they would put forward the policy of eliminating all forms of dependence, including energy, vulnerability, penetration and influence by the Kremlin regime in Bulgaria.
GERB leader Boiko Borissov said that Bulgaria had no choice but to stand on the right side of history and continue helping Ukraine.
Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova said that the goal should be peace, not war.
On February 24, the anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, there will be demonstrations in four Bulgarian cities in solidarity with Ukraine and against President Roumen Radev’s stance on the war.
In Sofia, the event starts at 7pm outside the Presidency, in Plovdiv at 6pm outside Sveta Bogoroditsa church in the Old Town, in Rousse at 5.30pm at 3 Alexander Battenberg Square and in Veliko Turnovo at 5.30pm in front of the municipality.
On February 25 in Varna, there will be a demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine, at 2pm in front of the municipality.
Source : Sofia Globe
