In a phone conversation with Petro Poroshenko, the Head of State congratulated him on his election for President of Ukraine at the early elections conducted in the country. “I wish you success in your efforts to put an end to the political crisis and the armed clashes and to lead Ukraine on to the path of difficult, yet necessary reforms,” President Rosen Plevneliev said.
The Bulgarian Head of State reiterated our country’s stance that the Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to choose its own future in a democratic way. “The high voter turnout at the conducted presidential elections is a proof that the Ukrainian people have espoused the idea of a pro-European, independent, democratic and united Ukraine,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
The Bulgarian President, who yet again condemned any attempt to destabilize the country from abroad, voiced the position that normalizing the political situation and stabilizing Ukraine can be achieved only through a dialogue held among all representatives of the Ukrainian society.
“Bulgaria condemned and does not recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation. This act violates the established international order and the rule of law. Neither can the results of the conducted illegal referendums in the districts of Donetsk and Lugan be recognized,” Rosen Plevneliev further said.
The elected President Petro Poroshenko voiced his gratitude for Bulgaria’s consistent and principled position in support of Ukraine and the preservation of its territorial integrity. He said that there is something symbolic in the fact that his election campaign ended in Bolgrad, one of the centers of the Bulgarian community in Ukraine.
Rosen Plevneliev said that Bulgaria has supported the signing of the political section of the Agreement on Ukraine’s association with the EU and thinks that the economic section should be signed as soon as possible.
During the phone conversation, Plevneliev and Poroshenko emphasized that they will work to ensure a new stage in the bilateral relations based on the historical ties and cultural proximity between the two peoples. “I believe that the rights of the national minorities in Ukraine will be defended in line with the European standards. What binds us is the cultural and religious proximity. The Bulgarian community in Ukraine, which is more than 250,000 people, is an irreplaceable bridge in our bilateral relations,” Rosen Plevneliev said in his phone conversation with Petro Poroshenko.
The two agreed that the Bulgarian Head of State should soon make a visit to Ukraine. Rosen Plevneliev and Petro Poroshenko will meet in Warsaw at the beginning of June, where the 25th anniversary since the beginning of the democratic changes in Central and Eastern Europe will be celebrated.