Bulgaria’s Leader Withdraws Ukraine Security Support
Boyko Borissov, Bulgaria’s former Prime Minister and current leader of the GERB party, says he no longer supports signing a security agreement with Ukraine. This comes as there are talks in Europe and the US about peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
The discussions about peace talks started after Donald Trump became President. He wants to end the war between Ukraine and Russia quickly. However, it’s unclear how he will convince Moscow to negotiate. There are concerns that Trump might agree to a peace deal that compromises Ukraine’s territory.
Bulgaria was supposed to sign the security agreement with Ukraine on December 11. However, the government withdrew from the plan and asked for parliamentary approval instead. The GERB party, led by Borissov, has the most seats in parliament.
Six EU countries have not yet signed a similar security agreement: Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Malta, and Cyprus. Since Russia’s war on Ukraine started in 2022, the GERB party has supported sending military aid to Kyiv. However, this support is now being withdrawn.
“We would have fully supported such an agreement six months ago,” said Borissov. Now, he wants a “reconstruction or peace process” in Ukraine. But, he thinks that any agreement should be signed by a regular government that can make a mutually beneficial deal.
Borissov did not explain what was lacking in the proposed agreement. When asked how a regular government could sign an agreement with Ukraine without opposition, Borissov said that if the agreement is good for both sides, no one will object.
The BSP party, which opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, might become a key coalition partner in a future GERB-led government.