Balgarianovinite.com On Thursday, opposition parties accused the Government of Progressive Bulgaria of pursuing contradictory actions in Bulgaria’s foreign policy towards the Coalition of the Willing, arguing that while Prime Minister Rumen Radev says Bulgaria will not participate in the Coalition, Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova signs a declaration supporting it. In a statement prompted by the accusations, the Foreign Ministry said Minister Petrova did not sign any declaration committing Bulgaria to increase its participation in the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine.
The Coalition of the Willing is a group of Western countries supporting Ukraine’s defence against Russia. On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the coalition will hold military exercises in countries neighbouring Ukraine.
On July 14, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Bulgarian reporters in Paris after receiving an invitation from the French President to join the Coalition that Bulgaria will not do so, arguing that lasting peace should be achieved through diplomacy rather than continued military assistance, a position that prompted criticism from Bulgarian opposition parties.
On July 15, Foreign Minister Petrova attended the Fifth Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Kyiv, which adopted the Kyiv Declaration signed by Ukraine and nine more countries, including Bulgaria. Item 7 of the declaration, posted on the website of the President of Ukraine, reads that the signatories “acknowledge the important work of the Coalition of the Willing as an effective mechanism for supporting Ukraine, including in terms of providing Ukraine with robust and legally binding security guarantees, and express the readiness to enhance our participation in its work.”
At a briefing in Parliament on Thursday, Progressive Bulgaria Floor Leader Petar Vitanov said that there was no contradiction between the statements made by Prime Minister Radev and Foreign Minister Petrova, as she was in Kyiv for talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation with Ukraine in the energy sector. Asked about Petrova signing the Declaration, Vitanov said declarations were political rather than legal documents and did not have binding legal force. “We were criticized over Item 7, which refers to ‘enhancing the role of the Coalition of the Willing’. Those who have read the declaration can see that it concerns the period after a peace agreement has been signed. That period has not yet arrived,” he said, adding that diplomacy operates on multiple levels. Georgi Iliev MP of Progressive Bulgaria said the party’s position remains unchanged: “We can increase support for Ukraine, but only within Bulgaria’s capabilities.”
GERB lawmaker and former foreign minister Georg Georgiev accused the Government of displaying “political schizophrenia” over Bulgaria’s participation in the Coalition of the Willing, saying its conflicting positions were damaging the country’s international standing. Georgiev said a declaration signed by the Foreign Minister represents the official position of the Bulgarian State. He argued that the document effectively overrides the Prime Minister’s public statements on the issue. Georgiev described the declaration as the concluding document of an established international format attended by presidents and other heads of state and government, adding that it commits Bulgaria to a formal position even if it does not explicitly prescribe specific actions. Georgiev accused the Government of pursuing a dangerous dual-track policy.
Democratic Bulgaria criticized what it described as the Government’s “quantum and chaotic” behavior, arguing that inconsistent positions on foreign and security policy are harming Bulgaria’s credibility among its allies. MP Ivaylo Mirchev told reporters that the Government’s contradictory actions were undermining both Bulgaria’s national interest and confidence among its international partners. In his words, while President Radev was in Paris saying Bulgaria would not participate in the Coalition of the Willing, Foreign Minister Petrova was in Kyiv signing a declaration stating the opposite. “This is being done with one single purpose – to exploit the pro-Russian vote in the presidential election,” Mirchev said.
Continue the Change Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov said there is no other country where the Prime Minister does one thing while the Foreign Minister does another. “We are witnessing yet another case of political schizophrenia – one thing is said and the exact opposite is done immediately afterwards,” he said. Denkov argued that on July 14, Prime Minister Radev surprised Europe by announcing that Bulgaria was withdrawing from its previously declared commitment to join the Coalition of the Willing. On July 15, Foreign Minister Petrova signed a declaration in which “we not only acknowledge the Coalition’s role but also state that we will work to support it and strengthen its activities,” said Denkov.
Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov believes that when Prime Minister Radev speaks about Ukraine and the Coalition of the Willing, he just tries to say what his supporters want to hear. “He ensures that those statements receive sufficient media coverage, and then hopes that his actual policy of supporting Ukraine through continued military assistance will not receive the same level of attention, leaving people misled,” Kostadinov told journalists. In his words, Bulgarian prime ministers usually have their foreign ministers installed for them by external factors. Foreign Minister Petrova “was not appointed by Rumen Radev either”; she was put into office “by foreign intelligence services, most likely the British”, Kostadinov claimed. Opposition Parties Accuse Government of Contradictory Actions towards Coalition of the Willing, Foreign Ministry Denies 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-16 18:41:51 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law