Between sanctions and Gazprom. What Bulgaria does for Ukraine

Video of the day in general, Bulgaria's position is careful, said the interlocutors of the Voice of America, and this is explained by both the instability of the government coalition and public opinion. About a third of the country's citizens, according to experts, adhere to pro -Russian views, which are also influenced by active Russian propaganda. “Bulgaria has been in political crisis for the last two years.

But even if we were not in the political crisis, almost every Bulgarian government is trying to balance between the supporters of the European Union and NATO, on the one hand, and those who are more likely to support the Easters, pro -Russian sentiment and positions, ”says the director of the Institute of Regional and International Studies in Sofia by Higher Minev.

The government in Bulgaria is formed by a parliamentary coalition, and in the case of one or more of its members, it should resign. This was the case with the previous government of Cyril Petkov. At the end of June, the Parliament voted for his resignation, and since the beginning of August he ceased his work.

"The last government, which actually led Bulgaria from December to July, was a government consisting In order to endanger Bulgaria the possibility of helping Ukraine with weapons, and generally maintained a very careful government position on war in Ukraine, ”Mingchev explains.

With such an assessment of the position of the Socialist Party, the American Foundation Researcher Jamestown Margarita Assenov, who worked in the Voice of America in Washington in 2019, and in the 1990s-on Radio Liberty in Bulgaria in 2019. "Her [Socialist Party] leader Cornelius Ninova stated that military assistance to Ukraine would be delivered through her corpse.

The Socialist Party, as well as a small but very loud Russophile group in parliament, aimed to frighten the population with a brutal campaign of misinformation, ”Assenova, who worked in the Polygraph Voice project, which was a debunking of Russian propaganda. Nevertheless, one of the steps that the previous government has joined and strictly adhered to the EU's sanctions on Russia. Bulgaria-NATO member since 2004 and the EU-since 2007.

"Basically, all the sanctions that have been approved were clearly supported, and we have implemented them almost in full without any objections," says Christ Panchugov, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science of New Bulgarian University in Sofia. Bulgaria voted for seven packages of sanctions against Russia, noted at the Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria. After the Petekova government resigned, new elections were announced in Bulgaria for October 2.

Currently, the country is governed by the Provisional Government, formed by the President. "Over the past year and this year, its role has increased, because it had to appoint three temporary governments last year and one temporary government, which is in fact in power now," Panchugov says. When taking the Provisional Government, President Rumen Radev said that his main task should be to prevent the country's involvement in conflict.

"The risk that the war (in Ukraine) will cover new territories, real, and your priority should be prevented by the country's involvement in conflict," the President quotes Reuters. The Bulgaria Embassy in the United States explained that when talking about it, the President also noted that in this activity the government should be guided by the "principle of energy security, diversification and availability of deliveries.

" "There is no question about the restoration of negotiations with Gazprom," the embassy said in a written response. The President, who ran from the socialist party, even before the start of a full -scale invasion, called for the removal of EU sanctions from Russia for its actions in Ukraine and during the debate called Crimea Russian, after which his office was forced to issue an explanation, noting that an attempt to annex Crimea with Russia " is a violation of international law.

" On August 23, the Bulgarian Government stated that he would resume negotiations with Gazprom on the supply of Russian gas to the country. “We have brought relations with Russia to the limit. This has never been. We sent all diplomats. We have stopped any communication . . . ”-said the Minister of Energy of Bulgaria Rosses Christ, Radio Svoboda reports. The effect of Bulgaria's long -term contract with Gazprom ends at the end of 2022.

The previous government published 70 diplomatic staff of the Russian Federation for suspicions in espionage and refused to pay for Russian gas in rubles, as required by Moscow, which is why Russia completely stopped supplying gas to the country. Before that, 90% of gas supplies to Bulgaria came from Gazprom.

At the end of July, Petekov's government announced that they had agreed to supply seven tankers of American liquefied gas, but at the end of August, a new government had already stated that they would accept only one tanker. The Foundation Researcher Jamestown Margarita Assenova draws attention to the fact that Bulgaria could meet her energy needs without Russian gas.

“Given that Bulgaria has a contract with Azerbaijan for a third of the gas need, and Baku promised to double this volume, the government had no reason to contact Gazprom again. In addition, the Cyril Petkov government has reached an agreement with the American company Ceniere about the supply of seven tankers of LNG, "she said" Voice of America ". The researcher suggests that the refusal to deliver Gazprom is the cause of voting for the distrust of Petkov's government.

“As soon as it became clear that Bulgaria refuses Russian gas, the parliament was voted for the vote of distrust of the government. Mainly because one of the coalition partners came out. The real reason is that many people, who have been bribered for decades by Gazprom, have lost their salary, ”she says.

Currently, according to the Bulgarian media, the Provisional Government, although spoke with Gazprom, will leave the signing of contracts for the supply of government energy, which will be formed after the election on October 2. “One narrative is the liberation of Bulgaria with the Russian Empire and the war with the Ottoman Empire. Also common Slavic roots of Bulgarians and Russians. And the final narrative was based on the Orthodox religion and therefore the fact that we share Orthodoxy.

These narratives existed together from the moment of release of Bulgaria. And as a consequence, Bulgarian history is taught, given the great role of Russians in the history of Bulgaria. And it still exists in Bulgarian society, ”Panchugov says. That is why the expert continues, the large proportion of Bulgarians do not consider Russia an hostile state.

In April, 44% of Bulgarians believed that NATO is responsible for the war in Ukraine, which is the highest indicator among 16 European countries and UK, surveyed by YouGov, an International Group of Data Studies and Analytics. Only 23% of Bulgarians believed that Russia is responsible for the war against Ukraine, compared to 85% of Finns and 80% of the Swedes, they are responsible for the war for Russia, according to this study.

However, according to Minev, the majority of Bulgaria's population, about two -thirds, shares pro -Western views, believing that their country should "belong to Europe, develop with the European Union and other European countries. " He divides the pro-Russian third into those who blame the West of his personal failures after the fall of communism and traditional supporters of Russian-Bulgarian friendship.

Panchugov points to the three main groups that exist in Bulgarian society, relative to Russia -solved war against Ukraine. “Obviously, one group supports everything we can do to help Ukraine in its resistance. The second group is people who for some reason - historical or simply because they do not find their place in a European narrative or something - sympathize with the Russian Federation. This is a small group, but it still exists in Bulgarian public opinion.

And the third group is people who do not support Russia's efforts, but do not want Bulgaria to be part of this war. ” Minschev points out that this narrative - not to interfere - became leading in Russian propaganda in this country. “They no longer stand for unity with Russia, because Russia is a nasty aggressor, and you will not disguise it. Now they say, "We should not go into another's war, we must be neutral.

" Asenova points out that propaganda, which spreads Russophiles and some Bulgarian politicians, is based on the blowing of a sense of fear.

“Many Bulgarians are washed by propaganda, and sowing of fear by politicians is a large part of this: the fear that winter will be cold because Russia has stopped supplying gas; fear that in the case of support of Ukraine Russia will revenge and punish Bulgaria; The fear that Bulgaria is a small country and can be an unintentional victim if NATO and Russia are openly faced; fear of using nuclear weapons or causing nuclear disaster; Fear of inflation and recession - anything, ”the researcher analyzes.

Bulgaria is no longer neutral, says Panchugov: “We are members of NATO and the European Union, so we are on one side with them. We are on the side of Ukraine. " “The Bulgarian side has repeatedly declared adamant support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Bulgarian side supports Ukraine's European integration aspirations, in particular in June this year, Bulgaria voted for granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for joining the European Union, ”the voice of America's request said.

Also in May, Parliament voted for granting the Bulgaria's mandate government for a series of support for Ukraine, "in particular, providing military and technical assistance-repair of Ukrainian military equipment at military enterprises" Bulgaria, the Embassy said. The help of temporarily displaced persons from Ukraine can be read in detail in one of the previous materials of Voice of America.

"Our position on Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has been clear and consistent from the very beginning: Bulgaria condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as Belarus's participation in the Embassy in the United States. "Russia rudely violates international law and poses a serious threat to European and Euro -Atlantic security, as well as international law and order," in a letter at the request of the Voice of America.

The Bulgaria Embassy indicates that the country fulfills all obligations on the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. “At the bilateral level, as well as within the EU, NATO and international forums, we have constantly declared our determination to strongly support Ukraine in the full restoration of its territorial integrity and the protection of its sovereignty and independence.

Comprehensive and multifaceted solidarity with Ukraine is as important as ever today, ”the Bulgaria's foreign policy representation emphasizes. According to MOGOV, 65% of Bulgarians approve of sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, 49% support the entry of Ukrainians, 17% - sending weapons, and 12% - sending troops to Ukraine as part of NATO operation, if any.

According to Globsec, a research organization with an office in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2022, Bulgaria's public opinion took place among the nine EU countries under study. If in 2021, 45% of Bulgarians considered Russia as a strategic partner, then in March 2022-only 30%. The proportion of respondents who treated Putin positively fell from 70 to 29%.

"This trend is condemning the pro -Russian parties of Bulgaria at best to minor roles, not allowing them to lead the government in the near future," Maxim Samorukov concludes in the article "Bulgaria returns to Russia's orbit?" On the Carnegie Foundation Website for the International Peace. Whether this is the case, the next parliamentary elections in Bulgaria will be shown on October 2 this year. The text is published with the author's permission.