Bulgaria Withdraws from the Coalition of the Willing

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that his country will no longer participate in the Coalition of the Willing because it advocates for a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine.

This was reported by BTA.

In an interview with bTV in Paris, the prime minister explained why no one represented the country at the Coalition of the Willing summit, which took place on Monday in Paris. He noted that he had personally received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to join the coalition.

“We are not part of a coalition that advocates for continued financial and military aid to Ukraine. We do not provide this kind of assistance because I believe that the path to resolving this conflict lies through active diplomatic efforts aimed at halting the escalation, rather than through its continuation by military means,” the prime minister clarified.

On July 9, Radev also criticized previous governments for their financial commitments to support Ukraine, noting that they had left the country with a significant budget deficit while making long-term promises to provide aid.

“Previous governments made firm, long-term commitments to provide financial support to Ukraine in the form of annual contributions. At the same time, they left us with a huge budget deficit,” he said.

The Bulgarian government’s rhetoric regarding the refusal to supply military aid to Ukraine began immediately upon Rumen Radev’s arrival in office in May of this year.