On 8th July 2026, when questioned by foreign journalists, Bulgaria’s PM Rumen Radev said the following (exact transcription):
“I believe that the global security challenges are pushing us to stay united. We don’t have other choice. But we need to stay very reasonable. We need just. We need comprehensive assessment of the security challenges. And that’s why need to take into account all the security circumstances. And we need to stay united, of course. But we need to lead and we need to organise our policy in this manner not to escalate, not to escalate in Ukraine, not to escalate in Iceland, not to escalate in the Middle East. […] My message is clear – I mean, the collective west, have been trying to achieve a conventional victory over the biggest nuclear power without having enough capabilities to counter their hypersonic missiles. And this is increasing dramatically the risk of escalation. This is increasing dramatically the risk of involving a nuclear… nuclear answer, and this is very very dangerous. That’s why we need to develop conditions as soon as possible for diplomacy and peace and not to escalate. […] We need to find all the conditions that lead to peace – sustainable and just peace.”
In his answers to the foreign journalists, Radev made a point that “the collective west” is trying to achieve victory against Russia – a propaganda talking point that the Kremlin uses for years to justify its war in Ukraine, portraying Russia as the side that is being attacked. Just as Putin’s regime does, Radev painted Russia as this unstoppable force that can never be overpowered by military means.
This comes after Radev blamed NATO in militarism (another Kremlin talking point). Radev is often blamed that he has completely different rhetoric when speaking in front of domestic and international audiences, causing confusion and allegations in lack of accountability.
What can be concluded based on his answers is that the strongest points he made are almost direct quotes from the Kremlin’s propaganda machine.
Leave a Reply