SOFIA (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,” he 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.
Bulgaria is a member of the NATO military alliance and the European Union, two Western groupings that Ukraine hopes to join. Zelenskiy said before talks that a NATO summit in Lithuania next week was on the agenda of his visit to Sofia.
Shortly before the two leaders 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, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
