Bulgarian President Radev's stance on Russia-EU relations

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has raised concerns regarding European security and the long-term survival of the continent if it remains in opposition to Russia. Following a drone attack in Leipzig, Germany, which Radev characterized as a “reckless Russian hybrid attack,” he questioned if providing long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory might provoke such retaliatory actions.

Radev’s stance has drawn domestic criticism from presidential candidate Andrey Gyurov, who argued that Russia chose confrontation by violating international law and that Bulgaria must remain a consistent EU and NATO partner.

In Russia, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma international affairs committee, praised Radev’s views as “completely reasonable.” Slutsky suggested Radev is providing a realistic assessment against what he termed “mad plans” for EU militarization. This follows a pattern of Russian officials expressing approval of Radev’s calls for dialogue and his warnings regarding the limitations of European defenses against Russian hypersonic missiles.