Bulgaria believes that the risk of Russia using nuclear weapons is increasing, and therefore calls on the collective West to avoid escalation.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev made the statement ahead of the NATO leaders’ summit.
Asked whether Bulgaria considers Russia a long-term military threat to NATO, the prime minister avoided giving a direct answer, noting that this was terminology used at the NATO summit in The Hague and that now "conditions should be found that will lead to a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine."
He warned against escalation with Russia, expressing concern over the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
"We, the collective West, are trying to achieve a conventional victory over the largest nuclear power using conventional weapons, while lacking sufficient capabilities to counter their hypersonic missiles, and this sharply increases the risk of escalation. It sharply increases the risk of a nuclear response, and this is very, very dangerous. That is why we need to create conditions for diplomacy and peace as quickly as possible, rather than escalation," Radev said.
On July 7-8, Ankara is hosting the 36th NATO summit. On July 7, a defense industry forum was held as part of the summit, where a number of contracts for the joint production of weapons worth tens of billions of dollars were announced.
