Bulgarian President Radev calls for peace talks, says Ukraine cannot defeat Russia

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev called Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia "impossible," Euractiv reported on May 20.

"Every day that this war continues is disastrous for Ukraine, Russia, and all of us," said Radev.

“This inevitably affects all elections — in Europe, in the USA, and everywhere in the world. We will choose in this and the next election between war and peace. Every citizen is obliged to understand this.”

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When asked about the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the Bulgarian President referred to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"It is unacceptable to present the continuation of the war and the impossible victory over Russia as the only possible solution," he said.

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Radev believes it is extremely dangerous for tensions between Russia and Ukraine to escalate in Europe.

"The attempted assassination of a European Prime Minister by a radicalized fanatic, because of his support for peace, indicates this ingrained intolerance of dissent and hatred," the Bulgarian President said.

“Many politicians, parties, and media have contributed to this by portraying every differing voice as pro-Russian, which is extremely unfair and leads to these negative consequences.”

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If the war continues, Ukraine will allegedly become "a demographically devastated country, with completely destroyed infrastructure, industry, and production, and this will have extremely serious consequences for all of Europe."

Radev also called for political efforts for peace, not the provision of weapons.

"With weapons, without weapons — we are heading to a similar outcome," he added.

“We have to realize that. The difference will be thousands of human casualties and a devastated country (Ukraine) for whose recovery we will have to pay.”

The Bulgarian President is a staunch opponent of military aid to Kyiv.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine