Elena Poptodorova: No one should question Bulgaria's stance

We have good news in terms of the whole context of the events that have taken place over the last year, and one of them is that Bulgaria has a regular government, which is so important for the outside world and for us, the Bulgarians. Before the war in Ukraine finds its end, which nobody knows when and how it will happen, every other area of life, every other sector of activity will suffer.

This is what Elena Poptodorova, vice-president of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria and former ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with BGNES.

"The problem is that the deteriorated international security situation affects everything else, including economic cooperation, trade and the common interaction between the countries in the Black Sea region. That is why it is so important to have an organisation like the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) because it is unique in its format," our former ambassador to the US said.

"The organisation brings together 13 countries - literally all the countries around the Black Sea itself. It is probably one of the few such formats where countries in a state of war participate. I don't think it's an easy situation - on the contrary, it's difficult, but it's important to keep people at the negotiating table and discuss the situation there as well," she added.

Regarding the decisions Bulgaria could take in the future to strengthen its position, the former ambassador stressed the need for a clear strategy and message.

"The important thing is to be clear, to be timely, to take adequate decisions - not to postpone them, but to take them when they are necessary. And I believe that this government will be able to do that, it is already doing that, so that nobody questions what Bulgaria's point of view is. There should not be such a case internationally and that is the main plus, that is the main result when you have a stable government with very frank views on sensitive issues. So that is what I expect them to do in the future," Poptodorova concluded. /BGNES