“This unacceptable aggression against civilian vessels in the Black Sea must stop,” Prime Minister Rumen Radev urged Thursday upon arriving in Brussels to attend a two-day meeting of the European Council.

“I have spoken with the Prime Minister of Romania, and today I will speak with the Romanian President so that we can launch a joint initiative in support of the efforts of Romania and Bulgaria. I could also involve Turkiye, as a NATO member state, in an effort to establish the Black Sea as an area where merchant and civilian vessels are not targeted,” he added.

“We will make every possible effort. I expect solidarity from all our European colleagues in adopting the moratorium we are proposing to halt attacks against civilian vessels,” Radev said. According to him, the European Council is expected to include a call for an end to strikes against civilian vessels in the conclusions of the meeting.

Asked where the drones involved in the attacks on vessels in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea had originated, the Prime Minister said that this is still unclear.

“I expect the vessel Chelsea 3 to be towed to the port of Burgas for repairs this afternoon,” he said. “We will then be able to conduct a detailed examination, identify any debris and obtain solid evidence. At present, we only have hypotheses. I told the Ambassador of the Russian Federation that it is logical to assume the attacks originated from Russia, because Ukraine would not attack its own ships and crews. The outcome benefits Russia, but there is no conclusive evidence. We do not base our accusations on hypotheses. When making allegations against a particular country, we want to have solid and clear evidence,” he said.

“This is not a matter of caution, but of substantiation. We have made it very clear that the escalation of this war and the risks associated with it stem from Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Radev said.

In response to a question, he stated that he did not support strikes against oil refineries or other energy infrastructure, such as those carried out by Russia in Ukraine.

Asked about Bulgaria’s participation in the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine, the Prime Minister explained that he supported any coalition seeking a swift end to the conflict through diplomacy.

According to him, there is a proposal to establish a NATO headquarters for the Black Sea in the form of a command structure. The Prime Minister clarified that two options are under consideration: a permanent headquarters or a rotating command arrangement, under which each of the three countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye, would assume command for one year at a time.

Asked whether he supported the United Kingdom’s return to the European Union, the Prime Minister responded affirmatively but expressed the hope that, this time, the British side would have learned its lesson about what leaving the EU entails.

“We would like to see a stronger and more expanded European Union, and the United Kingdom is one of the pillars of European security,” the Prime Minister said.