The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov has sacked Defence Minister Stefan Yanev for his reluctance to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a war, reiterating that Bulgaria will speak in one voice with the European Union.
In a televised statement, Petkov said his centrist coalition government would ask parliament to approve Yanev’s dismissal and appoint Todor Tagarev, who was a caretaker defence minister in 2013, to the post.
The PM said “My defence minister cannot use the word ‘operation’ instead of the word ‘war’. You cannot call it an ‘operation’ when thousands of soldiers from the one and the other side are already killed”.
“The Bulgarian interest is not in bending our heads down… When we see something we do not agree with, something so obvious, we cannot keep quiet”.
It is imperative to note that Bulgaria is a member of the EU and NATO but many in the Balkan country – which was the closest Communist satellite of the Soviet Union during the Cold War era – feel a strong cultural and historical affinity with Russia.
Analysts are of the view that taking a very strong stance against the Russian invasion could hurt Bulgaria, which is reliant on Russian energy supplies and tourist inflows to its Black Sea summer resorts.
Reacting to the development, President Rumen Radev said the change of defence minister amidst the military crisis not far away was risky and the ruling coalition would be responsible.
Reports have it that Bulgaria has pledged to bolster NATO’s eastern flank and lead a battle group in co-operation with NATO but comprised mainly of Bulgarian troops.
Some analysts believe that Yanev’s replacement may spur the deployment of more troops of NATO allies in Bulgaria.
A political commentator Ivo Indzhov, said “Bulgaria will not transform into an anti-Russian hawk in NATO but will follow the tone set by Petkov for a clearer voicing of the Bulgarian position in NATO against the aggression in Ukraine”
Reacting to his dismissal in a post on Facebook, Yanev noted that he was the subject of a targeted attack aimed at replacing him with someone who would be more open to taking decisions that serve foreign interests, which could put Bulgaria’s security at risk.
Petkov slammed Yanev’s statement saying neither of his ministers had the right to “their own foreign policy, especially on Facebook”.
The PM further stated that Bulgaria was not forced to take any decisions by its allies but stressed that the biggest guarantee for the country’s security lay in standing united with its EU peers.
