During his official visit to the Republic of Bulgaria, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov. The parties signed a Joint Declaration on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Head of State noted that he was pleased to visit Sofia at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
"It is very important that during the biggest moral crisis in Europe in this century, Bulgaria is a defender of freedom and an opponent of the absolutely genocidal policy that Russia is pursuing against our state, independence, freedom, against our people," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while speaking to the media following his talks with Nikolai Denkov in Sofia.
The President noted that it is difficult for some people to acknowledge the reality of Russian evil when the positions of Russian artillery burning cities and villages in Ukraine are located thousands of kilometers away, when these people do not know what it is like to live under constant Russian missile terror. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in this context, the assistance of those countries and peoples who do not ignore the evil that Russia is doing in Ukraine and have chosen the moral path of protecting life and freedom is even more valuable.
"I want to thank you, Bulgaria, for your support in protecting the lives and freedom of our people! I thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, and I also thank Madam Deputy Prime Minister, and I once again thank the entire government and parliament of Bulgaria for the moral strength of your decisions, for honestly recognizing the reality and existing threats," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
According to the President of Ukraine, now is the time when all those who value the international order and wish peace for themselves and other nations should be united, because unity gives strength.
"Today, Mr. Prime Minister and I held very meaningful talks. We discussed the whole range of our relations and, of course, first and foremost, security. The recent Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, which dealt an unprecedented blow and polluted our common Black Sea, demonstrated how fragile the situation is as long as Russia's aggression continues in our region. We agreed to significantly intensify cooperation between the defense ministries and in the defense sector in general. Be sure: we will definitely share all the useful security experience gained in this war with our partners to make our common strength greater," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the defense assistance provided by Bulgaria to Ukraine, including the specific details of the transfer of the current defense package.
"We look forward to continuing this cooperation, which has already helped protect many lives. We are very grateful for this. We will continue our conversation today, in particular, on the resumption of the practice of treatment and rehabilitation of Ukrainians, Ukrainian soldiers in Bulgaria, as well as on the training of military and medical personnel from Ukraine," the Head of State said.
The President also invited Bulgarian companies to take part in the restoration of Ukraine, in particular in the reconstruction of educational facilities. According to him, Bulgaria is ready to join cooperation in the environmental field and in the field of digitalization.
The leaders paid special attention to energy cooperation, as energy independence and market stability are part of the security architecture of each country.
"Together, we can give our countries more guarantees of stability in the energy sector and, no less importantly, guarantees of price attractiveness for ordinary people, ordinary consumers. We have to protect people from price crises. And I am glad that energy is becoming one of the priorities of cooperation between our countries - between Ukraine and Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Parliament has approved it, and our energy ministers have just signed the relevant memorandums of cooperation," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The parties discussed cooperation in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The President of Ukraine emphasized that our country expects to start negotiations on future membership in the EU this year.
"Today we signed a Joint Declaration with Mr. Prime Minister, which confirms Bulgaria's support for our Euro-Atlantic integration. This is the 22nd such package. The obvious majority in Europe stands for common security. This is a priority. I want to thank you as well, Mr. Prime Minister," the Head of State said.
Separately, Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed the Prime Minister of Bulgaria about the work to implement the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
"I would like to note Bulgaria's readiness to participate in these efforts. We have already started working at the level of advisors and ambassadors on the implementation of the Formula with our various partners. It is very important that we could start this work with Bulgaria at the level of the Ambassador, but so far, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Ukraine has not been appointed," the Head of State noted and added that he would talk to the President of Bulgaria on this topic today.
He invited Bulgaria to participate in the Global Peace Summit that Ukraine is preparing.
The President also thanked the people of Bulgaria for sheltering Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homeland due to the Russian invasion.
"Ukraine will never forget that in such a difficult time of the loss of lives, you are standing with us in the fight. I highly appreciate it. Thank you," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
For his part, Nikolai Denkov expressed his belief that an independent and sovereign Ukraine is the key to security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
"Russia must definitely withdraw from the territory of Ukraine, recognize its borders, and be held accountable for the crimes it has committed," he said.
The Prime Minister emphasized that relations with Ukraine are a priority for Bulgaria, given the historical, geographical, cultural and linguistic proximity of the countries.
Nikolai Denkov emphasized the importance of signing the Joint Declaration of Ukraine and the Republic of Bulgaria on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
"We know from our own experience the transformative power of such associations as the EU and NATO. The enlargement process should go hand in hand with the reform process in the candidate country. Bulgaria will continue to help Ukraine on its way to EU and NATO membership," the Bulgarian Prime Minister emphasized.
Nikolai Denkov also stated that Bulgaria is ready to participate in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
"We can provide expertise and material assistance in the energy and transportation sectors. Bulgarian companies can help with the restoration of cultural monuments that were destroyed during the war," he said.
According to the head of the Bulgarian government, there is also considerable interest in cooperation in the field of education and the development of new educational technologies.
"Bulgaria wants a sustainable and lasting peace and will do everything necessary to bring us all closer to it. We look forward to meeting President Zelenskyy again in just a few days in Vilnius, at the NATO Summit. At the same time, the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council will take place, where important decisions will be made," said Nikolai Denkov.
In addition, the President of Ukraine met with the leadership of the parliamentary factions of pro-European political parties of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria.
