NEWS

Head of State: The World Must Free Itself from the Self-deception that Peace Can Only be Guaranteed for a Given Country and Region or at the Expense of Someone Else

President Rumen Radev and H. M. King Abdullah II of Jordan are hosting a high-level meeting in Sofia "Aqaba Process for the Balkans III"

The great challenge not only for the Balkans and Europe, but also for the world today, is to free ourselves from the self-deception that it is possible to guarantee peace and security only for a given country and region or at the expense of someone else. This was stated by President Rumen Radev before the start of the high-level meeting "Aqaba Process for the Balkans III", co-chaired by the Republic of Bulgaria and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Bulgarian Head of State and H. M. King Abdullah II of Jordan welcomed at the forum "Aqaba Process for the Balkans III" the Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanovi? , the President of the Republic of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska- Davkova , the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovi? , the President of Slovenia Natasa Pirc Mussar , the president of Albania, Bayram Begai , the president of Kosovo, Vjesa Osmani , the President of Croatia Zoran Milanovi? , the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vu?i? and the Minister of Interior of Belgium Bernard Quintin. The meeting is attended by representatives of nearly 30 delegations, led by heads of state, representatives of governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and heads of diplomatic missions in our country.
 
The "Aqaba Process" initiative, launched in 2015 by Jordan's King Abdullah II, is dedicated to current issues related to terrorism, illegal migration and radicalization , and Sofia is hosting the third high-level meeting of this format, dedicated to the Balkan region.
 
"Today, when security is becoming a daily challenge, it is especially important for state leaders to be able to exchange views and jointly seek ways to strengthen it," the Bulgarian President emphasized. According to him, in a time of sharp deterioration in the security environment, it is especially important to hear more voices of leaders and experts and to respect their opinions and suggestions. "If this had been done, the fatal counteroffensive for Ukraine, launched in 2023, would not have happened, and a number of leaders in Europe would not have lived with the naive belief that by pouring more funds and weapons into Ukraine, it would achieve significant military successes and be able to negotiate from a position of strength," said the head of state and recalled his repeatedly stated position that these actions would not lead to success, but to more destruction, victims, the distancing of peace and the loss of even more territories by Ukraine.
"The lessons of history are often forgotten, that in times of global conflicts there cannot be isolated islands of peace and tranquility," Rumen Radev also pointed out and highlighted the significance of today's forum dedicated to security in the region.
 
"It is the Balkans that are particularly sensitive to the topic of security, because we directly suffer the consequences of the military conflicts around our region, which fuel illegal human trafficking, migration, terrorism and radicalization ," the president emphasized, adding that this is precisely why the focus of the high-level meeting "Aqaba Process for the Balkans III" is on this common understanding of security issues and the search for common ways to resolve them.