Former prime minister and former leader of the Party of European Socialists and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Sergey Stanishev, commented on criticism directed at the Radev cabinet from the European Parliament. He told Bulgaria ON AIR that he spent 10 years in the European Parliament and knows how resolutions are made: everyone inserts something and the result is mixed. He said the BSP members of the European Parliament did not support the resolution and that, alongside points useful to Bulgaria, the tone contained a categorical quality he did not find acceptable.
Earlier on Thursday the European Parliament criticised the Bulgarian government for an insufficient diplomatic reaction toward Russia after the attacks in the Black Sea and adopted a resolution that categorically condemns the deadly attacks. The document insists that Bulgaria officially confirm its participation in NATO’s initiative to counter drones no later than 30 October.
Stanishev said the government had reacted adequately and calmly to the Black Sea attacks. On the programme Denyat ON AIR he said the United States, a leading NATO ally, is trying to find a path toward a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, while the European Union is entirely absent from efforts to find a political solution. He said Russia did not succeed in a blitzkrieg and that Ukraine’s resistance is heroic, but that in a war of attrition Russia objectively has far greater resources. He described the war as being at a crossroads between diplomacy and escalation, and said the people of Ukraine are the biggest losers.
Stanishev suggested that the last two ships that sank were most likely struck by Russian drones. He said that in the summer Volodymyr Zelensky announced a campaign to force Russia toward peace and that ships then began to be hit. He asked whether, as a responsible statesman, Zelensky had considered what would follow, why he provoked that response, and whether further escalation is wanted, saying the two developments are interconnected.
Stanishev said Russia has two red lines from which it will not retreat: that the whole territory of Donbas pass to Russia, and that Ukraine not join NATO. He also asked where Europe will find a promised new tranche of millions in aid for Ukraine when all countries have large debts and economic problems.
He said Ukraine must be spoken to about the realities. Without Western, and especially European, solidarity, he said, the war would already have ended, and if it continues in the same way it will again end badly. He called for a dignified outcome for Ukraine, said the country is in a demographic crisis with more than 10 million people having fled abroad, and said those aged 23 to 34 will not return. He said thought must be given to how Ukraine will exist afterwards, that Russian attacks are destroying basic infrastructure, and that the European Union would do better to provide money for reconstruction.