Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, has criticised prime minister Rumen Radev after Bulgaria backed a French plan on European security "with reservations" at talks in Dublin. Mirchev, an MP from Democratic Bulgaria, said on Facebook that fear of Russia lies behind the reservations.
The French initiative sets out general principles for European security. These include the right of every country to choose its own alliances, and joint action against hybrid threats. A total of 39 countries adopted the declaration, including all EU members.
Radev backed the initiative but asked that its messages reflect the stage of the peace talks on Ukraine, the Government Information Service said.
Mirchev says the prime minister is not speaking clearly, and that complexes lie behind this. In his post he wrote that "Bulgaria's rulers again act as if they must personally ask Moscow for permission".
Mirchev says the government is again marking out how far it will go, and where its worry about annoying Moscow begins. He sees the same logic in what president Iliana Iotova said about the joint statement on Ukraine at the UN. She explained then that the changes Bulgaria proposed were not accepted, and that it was not possible to state reservations.
The MP wants to know which Bulgarian interest is under threat, what commitment the country is distancing itself from, and what it proposes itself. He says the formula "we support with reservations" raises the question of what Bulgaria is actually defending. For him, the "reservations" are a political fear that the country will take a stand, stand beside its partners and provoke a reaction from the Kremlin.
Mirchev says Bulgaria deserves leaders with a clear position, backed by arguments, and that national dignity needs a backbone. "Fear of the Kremlin cannot pass for state wisdom forever," he wrote.
Updated (13.11, 10:52): Bulgaria is the only EU country that has not signed the declaration from the European Political Community summit in Dublin, BNT reported. The document was signed by 39 of the 47 countries, including Germany, Ukraine, the UK, Italy and Poland. It sets out principles against information attacks and attacks on democracy.