(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday his country and Bulgaria had agreed on more active cooperation in the defence sector, and that he had invited Sofia to take part in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
“We discussed the military aid which Bulgaria gives to our country. We count on the continuation of the cooperation which has already saved many lives,” Zelenskiy told a joint press conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov in Sofia.
He thanked his hosts for their support as Ukraine battles Russian forces who launched their full-scale invasion more than 16 months ago.
Zelenskiy’s diplomacy adviser Ihor Zhovkva said in a Facebook post the countries signed a declaration on Ukraine’s integration into western organisations, particularly NATO and the EU, with Bulgaria becoming the 22nd country supporting Kyiv’s NATO bid.
“The document clearly shows that Bulgaria supports Ukraine’s membership in NATO as soon as conditions allow,” he wrote.
According to Zhovkva, Bulgaria also recognises that Ukraine’s membership in the alliance “is the only way to ensure a sufficient level of security for both Ukraine and the entire Euro-Atlantic family”.
Bulgaria is a member of NATO and the European Union, two Western organisations that Ukraine hopes to join.
Ukraine wants to receive an invitation to begin the process of joining NATO at the July 11-12 summit in Vilnius.
Kyiv’s allies are divided over how fast Ukraine should join NATO and some Western governments are wary of any move that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.
Shortly before Zelenskiy and Denkov gave speeches, a memorandum on energy cooperation was signed between the two countries.
“Together we are ready to give our countries greater guarantees in energy stability, as well as attractive prices for ordinary people,” Zelenskiy said.
He said he had invited Bulgaria to participate in the reconstruction effort in Ukraine, particularly in the rebuilding of the education sector. Zelenskiy said Bulgaria was also ready to help in the areas of ecology and digitalisation.
(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv; Additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk; Editing by Timothy Heritage and David Holmes)
