SOFIA -- Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and Russia-friendly President Rumen Radev will jointly represent Bulgaria at the NATO summit in Washington next month that is likely to discuss plans for further aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin's forces.
The announcement appears to be somewhat of an awkward compromise of a dispute between Bulgaria's Council of Ministers and the presidency just ahead of the June 21 deadline for delegations to register for the July 9-11 NATO gathering.
As a parliamentary republic, Bulgaria traditionally would be represented by the head of government, the prime minister.
However, Glavchev, serving in a caretaker role, asked parliament to decide whether he or the president should go to the summit.
The parliament, led Boyko Borisov's GERB party, declined to make a decision in the dispute, leading Glavchev to announced that both will attend.
"It was decided that the National Assembly will not take a position. Glavchev should decide for himself what he intends to do -- whether he should go, whether the president should go," said Tsoncho Ganev, deputy chairman of the parliament, according to BTA.
Radev has long taken what critics say is a Kremlin-friendly position following Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He has argued that sending military aid to Kyiv only prolongs the conflict and that those supporting further aid to Ukraine are "warmongering."
Radev's attendance was supported by the pro-Russia Socialist and Revival parties.
The president's backers say Radev, as commander-in-chief of the military, should represent Bulgaria at a NATO summit, while opponents say that role is only effective during time of war.
Delyan Peevski, head of the liberal Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, said Glavchev should represent Bulgaria to prevent Radev from pressing any pro-Russia positions at the summit.
"Radev should not be allowed to use this highest NATO forum to spread Russian propaganda and instill fear in Bulgarian society, which we have witnessed in scandalous cases," said Peevski, who has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain for alleged corruption but positions himself as a guarantor of "Bulgaria's unwavering value of belonging to Euro-Atlanticism."
Former Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov of the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition, also called for Glavchev to represent the country at the summit.
