Balgarianovinite.com Bulgaria will veto the European Commission’s latest proposal to broaden sanctions against Russia unless Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is removed from the proposed sanctions list, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Thursday. Radev spoke to Bulgarian journalists after arriving for a European Council meeting of EU heads of state or government.
Radev’s comment comes a day after Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said that Bulgaria would not support sanctions against Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.
The sanctions package will not be discussed at this European Council meeting and will be decided at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in July, Radev said. “We will not allow sanctions that harm and pose a risk to the Bulgarian economy, to Lukoil’s operations, to the Sofia metro, and to the supply of fertilizers to Bulgaria and the EU,” he added.
“Let us not mix politics with religion. The era of the Crusades is over. This war has moved beyond the trenches and spread into the economy, energy, culture, and sport, now all that remains is to involve religion as well. I am not concerned about Patriarch Kirill at all, I am concerned about the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian Orthodoxy contributed to our liberation from five centuries of Ottoman rule. My concern is Russian society as a whole and its Church, which is Eastern Orthodox, like ours. We are one family. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church should also have a say when such sanctions are being discussed,” Radev said.
Radev also said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting. He said the meeting had been requested by the Ukrainian side and that he expected to learn the reason for it.
Radev said his meeting with Zelenskyy later in the day had been requested by the Ukrainian side and that he expected to learn the reason for it. Radev said Bulgaria would support the process of Ukraine’s EU accession talks. “Bulgaria will in no way obstruct the launch of negotiations,” he added.
He said that Bulgaria is following its national interest and that the country would assess the risk posed by the proposed additional economic sanctions. “If we see a significant risk to the operation of Neftochim, we will ask for it to be excluded from the package,” Radev added.
Bulgaria will in no way obstruct common European decisions on Ukraine, he said. “Those who want to provide military aid to Ukraine should do so. We make decisions on our own supplies based on what we have in storage and whether we can do it,” he added.
Asked whether he has friends in the EU, he said he has excellent relations with all European leaders. “Bulgaria has many friends thanks to its reasonable and rational policy,” he said.
Asked whether any EU leader could persuade him to change Bulgaria’s position on sanctions against Russia, Radev did not rule out such a possibility. “If that leader manages to convince me that they will be able to minimize the risk to the Bulgarian economy, I am ready to be convinced,” he said. PM Radev Says Bulgaria Will Veto Russia Sanctions Package Unless Patriarch Kirill Is Removed 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-18 17:49:00 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