Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defeated his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev in an awkward televised dialogue in Sofia on Thursday, opening fire with every weapon in his arsenal against Radev’s opposition to arming Ukraine, Politico.eu reported, citing Rador.

The Bulgarian president, surprised and visibly upset by Zelensky’s outrage, demanded that all TV cameras leave the premises of the presidential palace, where the meeting was being filmed.

Zelenskyi visited Bulgaria primarily to meet with the pro-NATO and pro-European cabinet of Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, which supports arms exports to Ukraine and is also looking for ways to sell civilian nuclear equipment to Kyiv.

The meeting with Radev, a former air force commander who sympathizes with Russia and is ambivalent about NATO, went even worse than expected.

Huddled on either side of a long wooden table, the Ukrainian delegation, dressed in military uniform, sat with impassive expressions, occasionally grimacing and taking notes, face-to-face with Radev’s team as the Bulgarian president explained that “there is no military solution.” and that “more and more guns won’t solve it,” reports Politico.

Zelensky responded with measured disdain. “God forbid some tragedy happens to you and you end up in my shoes,” he said. “And if people with the same values ​​don’t help you, what will you do? Would you say: Putin, please take over some Bulgarian territory?’

“No, I am sure that you, as a true president, will not allow your independence to be jeopardized. It is your right not to support aid to Ukraine. But I would very much like you to understand me correctly,” he told her with sharp sarcasm, while Radev timidly hid in the notebook in front of him from time to time.

Zelensky criticized Radev for calling Moscow’s invasion a “conflict” and not a war, as well as vague claims that the war would spread to other countries, that it would “expand its spatial dimension.”

Unhesitatingly rejecting Radev’s offer of a diplomatic solution, Zelensky noted that the Kremlin had launched a “war of extermination against Ukrainians, not other countries,” and said that the government in Sofia, hostile to Radev, had the right to supply weapons.

“I also want to tell you that no matter how much ammunition your army has, it will not be enough to fight the Russian Federation. You have a good army, your people are good, but it is not enough to fight 160 million people. Therefore, it is good to give [arme]such as [noi] to [ne] We can protect and prevent the war from reaching you,” Zelensky also told him.

“Ukraine and NATO must have common values. It cannot be otherwise,” added Zelensky. “You cannot support Russia and maintain a balanced position, because Russia wants to destroy NATO, it wants to destroy Europe and the European Union; these are their goals. Do you understand me?”

At the end, Radev said he had a proposal, but asked all the TV cameras to move away to continue.

Zelensky to Radev: “This is not a conflict, but a war!”

The Bulgarian edition of Sega, in turn, writes that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made an emotional and extremely critical speech to the head of the Bulgarian state Rumen Radev during their meeting on Thursday. The reason for the harsh speech of the Ukrainian president was that Radev tried to avoid the word war, calling Russian aggression a “conflict.” “This is not a conflict, but a war,” the Ukrainian president said emotionally, clearly irritated by the speech of his Bulgarian colleague.

“From day one, I have condemned aggression against your country and war as a means of solving problems. “From the first months, Bulgaria extended a helping hand to Ukrainian citizens who were looking for salvation from the conflict that broke out,” said Radev.

“You just signed a document. This statement is an important step forward, but I do not accept the supply of ammunition, especially from Bulgarian warehouses. Because I, as the president and commander-in-chief, also have my responsibilities. The security situation is also worrying in our region, and it is all the more worrying for all of us that this conflict is expanding, taking on new dimensions. The fighting is intensifying, more and more people are dying, including Bulgarians from the large Bulgarian community in Ukraine. This is a sensitive topic, just like what is happening at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. And every day the risk to security and peace in Europe grows. According to Radev, “the conflict is turning into a war of attrition, a global economic confrontation that affects the economy of all European countries.”

“I still maintain that there is no military solution to this conflict, and the provision of more and more weapons is unlikely to lead to such a solution. And it is important to pay attention to consistent efforts to de-escalate, to cease fire, to find peaceful solutions through diplomatic means,” said Radev.

Zelensky’s answer

Zelensky reacted emotionally to these words. “Thank you for the invitation of the Government of Bulgaria. I emphasize, I am very grateful for the fact that the Bulgarian people gave a real shelter to many Ukrainians,” he said. “I hope that the people of Bulgaria understand that this is not a conflict, but a war. During the conflict, millions of people do not leave the country. Therefore, we know very well that this is not a conflict, but a war.”

According to Zelenskyi, one of Russia’s blackmail attempts is energy prices. “And the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia plant is not a conflict, but a war of attrition – but of Ukraine, a war of extermination of Ukrainians. This is a war not for killing world citizens, but for Ukrainians.”

“You have said that you do not support the supply of ammunition as Commander-in-Chief so as not to weaken your country’s military. Or do you not support the strengthening of Ukraine? These are different things. Whatever you have, it won’t be enough for your army to fight Russia if they come here. Therefore, it is good to let people defend themselves, so that the war does not come to you, to the Poles, to the Romanians – war does not care about distance, I can tell you. God forbid some tragedy happens and you end up in my place. And if it doesn’t help, then what will you do? You will say: “Putin, take the Bulgarian territories?”. No, I am sure that you will not allow and will not allow the sovereignty of the country to be violated. It is your right not to support aid to Ukraine, but I would like you to understand. I am convinced that one day we will be members of the European Union, and I am convinced that Ukraine and Europe should have common values. Because Russia wants to dissolve NATO and the EU, these are their goals, you know? Understand that he wants to destroy us, and we just want to live. This is!”

After this emotional speech, Radev replied that he had said “war” several times. But as for what Zelensky said about the victims and atrocities of Russian troops, he spoke about his concern about inflation, Sega.bg notes.

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