Putin Congratulates Rumen Radev With Election as Bulgarian President

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Rumen Radev on election as Bulgaria's president and said he was confident it would be possible to boost the political dialogue and expand cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow-friendly Radev won Sunday's presidential election in Bulgaria with 59.4 percent of votes.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Rumen Radev with his election to the post of the president of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Russian head of state noted a considerable potential for further development of the Russian-Bulgarian relations, which are based on the centuries-old traditions of friendship, cultural and spiritual kinship," the Kremlin said.

Former Bulgarian Air Force Commander Radev is winning the second round of the presidential election with 59.4 percent of votes, while his opponent Tsetska Tsacheva from the country's ruling GERB party has gained 36.64 percent of votes, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).