MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday expressed concern over the European Union's drive to keep waging a "sanctions war" against Russia.
"As for the sanctions [against Russia], I do not see what is the practical use of them, as the losses are obvious. I fear that the new US administration will restore the dialogue with Russia and the EU will remain hostage to the sanction war," Radev said in an interview with the EurActiv media website.
The president dismissed claims that he was pro-Russian, accusing European media of fomenting political intrigue by assigning simplistic labels to politicians.
Bulgaria's choice to join the European Union and NATO will not be questioned during his presidency, he stressed, while maintaining that Bulgaria will also seek to pursue its own foreign policy and support a multipolar world.
"The existence of several geopolitical centers should be another incentive for the EU to seek to preserve its unity, because only a united EU can play on par with other major actors. As far as I’m concerned, I hope to establish pragmatic and mutually beneficial relations with the leaders of the USA, Russia and China," Radev said.
The European Union and the United States imposed a number of economic and individual sanctions against Russia in 2014 on the pretext of the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis. The sanctions have been renewed several times despite a number of national and local EU legislatures voicing their opposition.
