Contents tagged with Bulgaria

  • Bulgaria suspends military deal with Russia due to complaint made by Ukraine

    Bulgarian Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov said that Sofia suspended the deal with Russia to repair MiG-29 aircraft because of a complaint by Ukrainian Ukroboronprom company, as reported on the Bulgarian Defense Ministry’s website.

    The Russian company was to re-equip 15 old MiG fighters for the Bulgarian armed forces. However, due to the complaint by Ukraine to the Commission on Protection of Competition, the authorities of the country were forced to suspend the process.

    Karakachanov …

  • Military pilots in Bulgaria refuse to fly Russian MiG-29 fighters

    Some military pilots in Bulgaria are refusing to fly Russian MiG-29 fighters during training flights, citing security issues of the obsolete airplanes, stated Atanas Zapryanov, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Bulgaria, Radio Liberty reports.

    “Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov accused the pilots who refused to fly the Russian aircraft of carrying out a politically motivated campaign. He insists that Bulgaria will restore all of its MiG-29s and about 20 Russian Su-25 bombers,” the …

  • President of Bulgaria: Sanctions against Russia should be abolished

    At a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said that he wants European sanctions against Russia to be abolished, Nova TV reported.

    According to Radev, it is necessary to seek diplomatic solutions for Russian issue, so as not to harm business. "In the economic sense, these sanctions are very painful," he said.

    According to the Bulgarian president, sanctions cannot last forever, and business should not suffer from this.

    "Therefore, they must be eliminated," …

  • Bulgaria to seek lifting of sanctions against Russia during its Chairmanship in the EU

    Bulgaria intends to seek the lifting of sanctions against Russia during its term as chairman of the Council of the EU in 2018, as announced by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov during the opening of an office of the European Investment Bank in Sofia, news agency Ukrinform reports.

    “During our term as chairman of the EU, we must work politically and diplomatically to lift sanctions from Russia and reduce tensions between Europe and Russia. I do not know if we will be able to do this, …

  • Media: Four EU countries will send complaint to OSCE about Ukrainian Law on Education

    The foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece and Romania signed a letter to the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, where they expressed concern over the new law on education adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, reported Bulgarian news agency BGNES, citing the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva.

    “We are certainly concerned, and it is not a coincidence that there is a joint initiative with colleagues from European countries that can be affected by this law. And today, the …

  • Media: Bulgaria considers Russia a threat

    The Bulgarian government views Russia as a threat to its foreign policy, according to the report on the state of national security in 2016, adopted by the government and sent for approval to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Bulgaria, Sega newspaper reports.

    The newspaper stresses that "this is the first time that a government document contains such a sharp criticism of Moscow." This document was signed by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. In it, he says that "Russia's actions are a …

  • Bulgaria wants to abandon Russian MiG military aircraft

    In response to a statement made by the Bulgarian Minister of Defense, Krasimir Karakachanov, that Bulgaria could abandon purchasing new fighters and repair old Russian MiGs that are used in the Bulgarian army, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev spoke against the repair of Russian MiG-29 fighters insisting on the acquisition of new aircraft that meet NATO standards.  

    "No, absolutely not, we cannot give up buying new fighters for the Bulgarian military. Our aviation should be compatible with the …

  • Bulgaria declares its readiness to receive gas from TurkStream

    In the event that Russia halts gas supplies through Ukraine, Bulgaria is ready to accept all of the gas intended for Europe through a second TurkStream pipeline,  stated by the country's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. “If Russia stops pumping 3 billion cubic meters through Ukraine, then we will buy this amount through TurkStream.”

    The Bulgarian Prime Minister noted that a few weeks ago he signed an agreement for the supply of 15.7 billion cubic meters of gas. “And tomorrow we will sign a …

  • Bulgarian President speaks in favor of lifting sanctions against the Russian Federation

    President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev spoke in favor of the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions.

    In his opinion, restrictive measures against Russia have not brought the anticipated benefits, and he is ready to support their withdrawal "with pleasure".

    In addition, as reported by the BTV channel, Radev spoke regarding an early conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leader of Bulgaria intends to invite him to events honoring the 140th anniversary of the country's liberation from …

  • Medvedev: Russia is negotiating with Greece and Bulgaria an entry point for the second branch of the Turkish Stream pipeline

    Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that Russia is in talks with Greece and Bulgaria regarding an entry point to Turkey for the “Turkish Stream”, reports RIA Novosti.

    "We, within the framework of negotiations that are being conducted with a number of European countries, are determining where it is better to establish an entry point to Europe. There are different proposals. Negotiations are being conducted with a number of European countries, these are both Greece and Bulgaria. Well, and …