PM Denkov: There are constant provocations from presidential institution

There are constant provocations from the presidential institution, said Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov at the airport's VIP terminal after returning from a visit to Romania. His statement came as an answer of a question about the joint work between the Presidency and the Council of Ministers given their recent sharp tone.

"I will not get into that tone," Denkov said. "I have always said that institutions should show respect for each other," he added, stressing that his answer will be in such a way he believes the institution that he represents should answer and would speak in defence of Bulgarian national interests.

The Prime Minister read out several quotes from the Madrid Declaration of 29 June 2022: "Russia must immediately stop this war and withdraw from Ukraine", "We stand in full support of the government and people of Ukraine and their heroic defence of their country", "We reaffirm our unconditional support of Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including international waters", "The Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to the security of the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)".

"My question is when our President had his own opinion - when he signed these quotes or when today he repeats some Russian talking points that have nothing to do with what the EU and NATO members present as their position," Denkov said, adding that the Bulgarian national interest is to stop the war by Russia withdrawing its troops from Ukraine, by Ukraine becoming a NATO member and by Bulgaria building up its defence capacity in full compliance with the regional plans that NATO adopted in Vilnius. 

Asked to comment on President Rumen Radev's words on Friday that he wants to make it clear that Ukraine insists on fighting this war, Denkov said, "On the contrary, the one who insists on fighting this war is the circle around Putin. They started this war. Again I say, the quickest way to stop this war is for this same circle to call on their troops to get out."