Bulgaria's President Opposes Ukraine's Drive for NATO Membership

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev spurned the call for him to join the other nine Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in pushing for Ukraine’s official entry into NATO. (Of the 30 NATO countries involved, those nine are the only ones to make a straightforward declaration for acceding to Ukraine’s call for Ukraine’s accelerated entry.) In a statement published by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency on Oct. 3, Radev’s office said the President felt compelled to clarify why he had not signed off on the pro-Ukraine declaration. The statement gave Radev’s explanation that NATO should not welcome Ukraine into its ranks until the armed conflict between Kiev and Moscow has been resolved.