Rumen

President Rumen Radev stated that the rapid assurances from Bulgarian politicians and institutions that Bulgaria will not send troops to Ukraine are meaningless if another NATO member state provokes a direct confrontation with Russia. He questioned the likelihood of such a scenario, noting the escalating rhetoric and actions towards this direction.

Bulgaria and Hungary support the European integration of the Western Balkans, but this support hinges on substantial reforms, adherence to the Copenhagen criteria for membership, and the cultivation of genuine good neighborly relations. This was emphasized by President Rumen Radev after his meeting in Budapest with Hungarian counterpart Tamas Sulyok.

Bulgaria anticipates a shift in the rhetoric of North Macedonia and an end to the language of hatred, according to a message from Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova.

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev and a delegation accompanying him were granted an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. During the meeting, President Radev presented Pope Francis with an original icon of Saints Cyril and Methodius, crafted by artists from the Sofia Icon Painting School in the latter half of the 19th century.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev emphasized the "impossibility of achieving a victory over Russia" and rejected the continuation of the war in Ukraine as a viable option.

French President Emmanuel Macron has designated Varna as one of his favored travel destinations, as revealed in his response to a question on Instagram's "Answers of Young People about Europe" column. When prompted with "Which destination do you recommend we visit?", Macron singled out the Bulgarian maritime capital.

Gordana Siljanovska was inaugurated as North Macedonia's president in a parliamentary session, where she referred to the country as "Macedonia," diverging from the official "North Macedonia" designation.

Greek Ambassador Sofia Philippidou left the session in protest, in line with Greece's Foreign Ministry directive.

Italy has thrown its weight behind Bulgaria's bid for full-fledged membership in the Schengen area, affirming its steadfast support during Italian President Sergio Mattarella's two-day visit to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrives today at the ninth edition of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) summit in Vilnius Lithuania. In his address, President Radev underscored the Initiative's overarching objective: to bolster the social and economic advancement of Central and Eastern European nations by bridging the connectivity gap in energy, transport, and digital infrastructure.

As the Orthodox Easter coincides with May this year, Bulgaria is gearing up for an unprecedented surge in travel, predicts Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Forecasting of the Information Environment in Tourism, in an interview with BTA.