Foreign relations of Bulgaria
[2] Bulgaria has generally good foreign relations with its neighbours and has proved to be a constructive force in the region [citation needed] under socialist and democratic governments alike.
Promoting regional stability, Bulgaria hosted a Southeast European Foreign Ministers meeting in July 1996, and an OSCE conference on Black Sea cooperation in November 1995.
The Republic of North Macedonia plays an important role in Bulgarian foreign and domestic policy due to historical, ethnic and cultural ties.
[3] Due to close historical, cultural, and economic ties, Bulgaria sought a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia, on which it largely depends for energy supplies.
In 1996, Bulgaria acceded to the Wassenaar Arrangement controlling exports of weapons and sensitive technology to countries of concern and also was admitted to the World Trade Organization.
After a period of equivocation under a socialist government, in March 1997 a UDF-led caretaker cabinet applied for full NATO membership, which became a reality in April 2004.
[6] In November 2010, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov formally announced his team proposes to close seven embassies as part of a plan for restructuring and austerity measures.
In March 2012 the Borisov administration decided to discontinue its plans to build with the help of Rosatom and Atomstroyexport the Belene nuclear station near the River Danube.
[9] Gas was to be pumped to the Black Sea port of Varna before it travelled overland to the Serbian border and northeast from there to Hungary, Slovenia and Austria.
[10] A Bulgarian weapons dealer named Emilian Gebrev was poisoned (along with his son and an employee[11]) in Sofia in spring 2015 using a substance believed to be the nerve agent Novichok,[12] and in 2020 three Russian nationals were charged in absentia.
[17] Bulgaria manufactures many types of Soviet-era ammunition, anti-tank missiles, and light arms, and has extensive trade ties with other recovering Soviet countries for this reason.
[20] TurkStream started shipping gas to Bulgaria, Greece and North Macedonia on 1 January 2020,[21] after the personal intervention of Vladimir Putin.
[25] Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has introduced a political taboo on the use of Russian narratives, including the "special operation" label favoured by Vladimir Putin.
[29] Petkov noted Bulgaria's espousal of all sanctions against Russia, and would allow the use of the Port of Varna to transship goods that had been stifled by the Russian blockade of Odesa.
[24] In June 2016 Borisov and Plevneliev vetoed Romania's idea of forming a NATO flotilla in the Black Sea,[26] one day after a stern warning from Russia.
Lürssen is the prime contractor for the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence, while Swedish manufacturer Saab AB subcontracted to provide the electronics.
The Bulgarian ring leader was a highly placed former official with the Ministry of Defense named Ivan Iliev, who corrupted his wife, and who trained military intelligence officers.
Prosecutors alleged that the group "posed a serious threat to national security by collecting and handing to a foreign country state secrets of Bulgaria, NATO and the European Union."
Relations between Greece and Bulgaria have been very cordial since the 1950s, due to the strong cultural, political and religious ties between the two nations, preceded in the earlier 20th century by periods of intense mutual hostility.
Ukraine and Bulgaria actively cooperate and provide mutual support within the framework of regional and international organizations, such as the BSEC, the Central European Initiative, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the United Nations.
Ukraine and Bulgaria are united by ethnic, linguistic and religious components, traditional economic, trade and cultural-historical ties.
