Bulgaria ties three exemptions from Russia sanctions to national interest

“Bulgaria has, for the first time, openly raised objections within the EU to the 21st package of sanctions against Russia and requested that three individuals, Patriarch Kirill, Vagit Alekperov, one of the co-owners of Lukoil, and Iskander Makhmudov, who is linked to a company supplying spare parts for Sofia’s metro trains, be removed from the sanctions list.” Bulgaria''s Prime Minister Rumen Radev said this in a statement to the media at the Council of Ministers, alongside Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš during his visit to Sofia, BTA reported. According to Radev, the requests were granted. “It has become clear that there is nothing alarming about a member state, whoever it may be, standing up for its national interest,” he commented.

Sofia objected to sanctions against Russian Patriarch Kirill because Bulgaria believes that religion should not become an additional element in the escalation of the war in Ukraine, Radev explained. Regarding Vagit Alekperov, the government cited the risk to Lukoil’s companies in Bulgaria, while in the case of Iskander Makhmudov, it pointed to supplies of spare parts for the Sofia metro, which the government considers a matter of transport security.

“We have always been part of common European decisions, but we regard these three individuals as a matter of national interest and, if our request had not been granted, we would not have supported these sanctions,” PM Radev said.

Edited by Miglena Ivanova