Zelensky in Bulgaria: Visit Regarding Security Guarantees and Defense Support

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, arrived in Bulgaria on July 6 for an official visit. Observers have already assessed the visit as historic, as it takes place amid the large-scale war waged by Russia against Ukraine and on the eve of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

"Defense support, Euro-Atlantic integration, the NATO Summit, security guarantees, and the implementation of the peace formula" - these were the topics President Zelensky announced for the meetings on his Twitter.

As a result of the bilateral meeting between President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Nikolai Denkov, a Joint Declaration on Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic Integration was signed.

"We do not waste a single day on the eve of the NATO Summit in Vilnius! Today, Bulgaria, our important partner in the Black Sea region, became the 22nd country with which we have formalized support for Ukraine's membership in the Alliance," wrote Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, on Facebook.

The meeting between the President of Ukraine and Bulgarian Prime Minister Denkov was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Gabriel.

"We expressed solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," she wrote on Facebook, noting that the main topics of the negotiations were security and defense issues.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, during the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that the "Russia-Ukraine conflict is taking on new dimensions" and is an "extremely sensitive" issue for Sofia. He also implied that he does not support supplying ammunition to Kyiv, according to the Bulgarian news outlet Darik News.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Sofia coincided with the decision of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Bulgarian Parliament to support Ukraine's intention to join the North Atlantic Alliance immediately after the end of the war, the Bulgarian daily BNT reports.

"This is a sign for Ukraine that one day, when we hope peace will soon prevail, Ukraine will be able to count on Bulgaria's support in its desire to be able to join NATO and jointly guarantee our security," said the co-author of the document, chairman of the Yes Bulgaria! Hristo Ivanov.

The document also states that the only way to restore peace in Ukraine and on the European continent is the complete and immediate withdrawal of Russian troops beyond the internationally recognised borders of all states affected by its actions.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Bulgaria on a government plane, and the visit itself was prepared with enhanced security measures.

The last visit of the President of Ukraine to Bulgaria was more than 7 years ago.

Last year, the Ukrainian leadership signed an application to join the bloc under the fast-track procedure, which provides for accession to the Alliance without the MAP. At the time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Kyiv could only count on a positive response if all 30 member states supported it.

As a result, 9 countries officially confirmed their commitment to Ukraine's accession to NATO, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Canada.