President of Bulgaria Takes a Stand for the Dialogue between Russia and the EU

The foreign policy role is to open the door to dialogue and cooperation, and not to deliberately define someone as an enemy. The political crisis in Eastern Europe cannot affect the relations between the EU and Russia, but the rejection of any dialogue is not a solution, stated the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev in an interview for the Serbian newspaper CorD Magazine. “Despite the continuing tensions in relations between Russia and the EU and mutually imposed sanctions, Russia has proved itself as a traditional partner of Europe in the energy, economic, tourism and anti-terrorism sectors. The leading EU member states protect their economic interests in Russia, and I do not understand why this cannot be applied to Bulgaria”, President Rumen Radev said. Rumen Radev called upon to avoid aggressive tone, which became a general principle in bilateral relations, and a pragmatic dialogue with the largest country in Eastern Europe is in the interest of both the EU and Russia. Commenting his call to keep the potential for direct gas supplies to Bulgaria and the EU via the Black Sea during the visit to Moscow in May and political acceptability of the project for the EU, the Bulgarian president reiterated that this route has remained the most reliable, direct and the cheapest. “The need for direct supplies of Russian gas to the EU countries territory is determined both by reason and by the requirements of energy security and reliability. They form the basis of the European Energy Union. As to whether the project will be politically acceptable to the EU, I would like to reiterate that ensuring the transfer of gas supplies via the so-called South Stream is no different from Germany’s plans for the implementation of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline, in accordance with Third Energy Package requirements. I hope that Brussels will agree with this idea with understanding, especially since this provides additional gas supplies not only to Bulgaria, but also to Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Northern Italy and other countries”, the Bulgarian president said. As for the progress in the European integration process, the Bulgarian president stated that the announced 2025 horizon for the Western Balkan access to the EU is an opportunity and an incentive for Serbia and other candidate countries to make the necessary reforms. The President of Bulgaria stressed that the reliability, stability and economic development of the Balkans are related to the realization of the European perspective of the entire region. Source: Novinite