Sergey Stanishev, a former Bulgarian prime minister, former president of the Party of European Socialists and former BSP leader, told Bulgaria ON AIR that the Bulgarian government had reacted adequately, calmly and responsibly to drone attacks in the Black Sea near Bulgaria.
Earlier the same day the European Parliament criticised the government for an insufficient diplomatic reaction toward Russia after the Black Sea attacks and adopted a resolution strongly condemning the deadly strikes. The document insists that Bulgaria officially confirm its participation in NATO's initiative to counter drones no later than 30 October. Stanishev said he had spent 10 years in the European Parliament and knew how resolutions were made, with everyone inserting something until the result was mixed. He said the BSP members did not support the resolution and that, alongside points useful to Bulgaria, its categorical tone was not acceptable.
He said the United States, a leading NATO ally, was trying to find a path to a diplomatic settlement, while the EU was entirely absent from efforts to find a political solution. Russia had failed in a blitzkrieg and Ukraine's resistance was heroic, he said, but in a war of attrition Russia objectively had far greater resources. The war stood at a crossroads between diplomacy and escalation, and the people of Ukraine were the greatest losers. He warned that if the situation moved toward escalation, Bulgaria would be the one to suffer. He said Prime Minister Radev's line was the right one and in the interest of Bulgaria and Europe, and that Bulgaria should try to help find a political solution.
Stanishev allowed that the last two sunken ships were most likely hit by Russian drones. He said that in the summer Zelensky had announced a campaign to force Russia toward peace and that ships then began to be struck, asking whether those two developments were linked and whether escalation was wanted. He argued that the government should step up protection of Bulgarian airspace against drone strikes, called joining the NATO initiative a correct step, and said a comprehensive security system for Europe should be sought.
He said Russia had two red lines it would not abandon: the whole territory of Donbas passing to Russia, and Ukraine staying out of NATO. He asked where Europe would find a promised new tranche of millions in aid for Ukraine when all countries had large debts and economic problems. Talks with Ukraine had to face realities, he said: without Western and especially European solidarity the war would already have ended, and if it continued in the same way it would again end badly. A dignified outcome for Ukraine should be sought. Ukraine was in a demographic crisis, more than 10 million people had fled abroad, and two-thirds to three-quarters would not return. Russian attacks were destroying basic infrastructure, and he said the EU would do better to provide money for reconstruction.