All Bulgarian Political Parties, except Vazrazhdane, Condemned the Recognition of DPR and LPR
All parliamentary parties, except Vazrazhdane, condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics of Ukraine as independent states. A joint declaration of the National Assembly was not reached, and the parties of the ruling coalition failed to gather for such a meeting.
Putin Recognizes the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics as Independent States
The co-chairman of “Democratic Bulgaria” Hristo Ivanov read a joint declaration on behalf of the parties “We Continue the Change”, “There Is Suck a People” and “Democratic Bulgaria”.
Although the deputies specifically went on a 30-minute break to write a joint declaration on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Bulgarian Socialist Party made a separate declaration in the morning, and GERB also issued a separate statement.
Bulgaria Condemns Putin’s Recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk
“We condemn Putin's decision to recognize the self-proclaimed regions of eastern Ukraine as independent. This is a gross violation of international law and the Minsk Agreement. We are concerned about Putin's claims that he questions Ukraine's existence as an independent state,” said Hristo Ivanov.
He said the government would work with the EU and NATO to enforce the principles of international law and support EU sanctions against Russia.
“We deeply regret that Russia's fault led to the end of the Minsk agreements, which has dramatically reduced the scope for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. We continue to follow with concern what is happening in eastern Ukraine and hope that dialogue and diplomacy will succeed in preventing further escalation of the conflict,” the DB co-chair said.
Hristo Ivanov stressed that the protection of life and health of citizens in eastern Ukraine is an absolute priority. “We will submit a draft declaration on behalf of parliament in this regard in the coming days,” he added.
Bulgarian Socialist Party on Ukraine: The Time of Diplomacy is Not Over
The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) made a separate statement in the morning, arguing that the thesis of BSP and the other parties in the ruling coalition is the same. According to the left, the recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics can be seen as a violation of international law.
“With this step, the status quo in the region is entering a new, unpredictable phase. We call for priority to be the preservation of the health and well-being of citizens. We call for an end to all armed provocations,” said Deputy Speaker Christian Vigenin.
According to him, the time for diplomacy is not exhausted and all countries must invest efforts in stopping the escalation.
“We call for direct negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations to begin a real process of resolving the conflict, in accordance with international law,” Vigenin said.
The position of the “Vazrazhdane” (Revival) political party is that Ukraine has been deceived and “looted” by the allies, who today make declarations and protest notes.
“Rumen Radev condemned the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics. Shortly before that, ex-PM Borisov, current Prime Minister Petkov, Foreign Minister Genchovska and all other puppets, kindly raised by their overseas masters, did the same. Ukraine was deceived and plundered by the same ‘allies’ that today they pour out declarations, protest notes and harsh sanctions, but they actually look away and gnaw at the remnants of an eastern state.”
“We follow only the Bulgarian national interest. It dictates that we demand immediate security of the Bulgarians in Ukraine, not to sing together with people of the so-called allies”, write “Vazrazhdane” in an official position.
Bulgarian President: Recognition of DPR and LPR Dooms De-Escalation Efforts
Later, the parliamentary group of “Vazrazhdane” gave a briefing. Party leader Kostadin Kostadinov condemned “trampling on international law by Ukraine”:
"We also strongly condemn the violation of the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements signed by Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE to resolve the situation in Donbas, but we condemn the violation of these Minsk agreements by Ukraine.”
According to him, in recent months there have been many violations of the peace on both sides.
He added that his parliamentary group would not support the draft declaration of the National Assembly of GERB and the quadruple coalition, because they were not in line with the national interest.
Former Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said that GERB strongly condemned the gross violation of international law by the Russian Federation and another encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
EU and NATO Condemn Putin's Decision to Recognize the Independence of Donetsk and Luhansk
“We call on our partners and allies in the EU and NATO to consider and impose as severe sanctions as possible on the Russian Federation, commensurate with the seriousness of the challenge to the international security architecture. We urge the Russian Federation to return to implementing international norms and negotiations as stated in Minsk Agreements in their entirety. The full recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR and the deployment of Russian military equipment and personnel in these territories closes the possibility of peaceful settlement of the conflict and restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity,” Mitov said.
According to him, the UN Security Council needs to be convened urgently to assess the compatibility of the actions of the Russian Federation with the fundamental principles of the organization, as well as with its statutes.
The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) also condemned Putin's actions. They were the last to issue an official statement, as they expected parliament to agree on a common position.
“We condemn the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, which is contrary to international law. Recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and the deployment of troops and military equipment undermines the peaceful resolution of the conflict.
We are in favor of a peaceful settlement of the disputed issues, compliance with international norms and implementation of the Minsk Agreement. We still hope that we will be able to reach an agreement on a joint declaration,” said DPS Chairman Mustafa Karadayi.
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