Bulgarian president’s veto on supply of armored vehicles to Ukraine ‘will be overruled’: Premier

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov on Monday said that President Rumen Radev's veto on the transfer of armored vehicles to Ukraine "will be overruled" by parliament, local media reported.

Rosen Zhelyazkov, the parliament speaker, also said that there is a sufficient majority in parliament to override the president's veto, according to state-run BTA news agency.

"The President's position is predictable and consistent. The position of the majority is also such and it will lead to overcoming the veto, because Bulgaria's foreign policy is based on an objective that is written in the Constitution - is assistance to the establishment of a just international order," Zhelyazkov was quoted as saying.

While coalition partners, GERB and DB parties have criticized the veto, the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and Vazrazhdane party have expressed support for Radev's decision.

Earlier, Radev announced that he vetoed the supply of armored vehicles to Ukraine, arguing the vehicles could be used for protecting Bulgaria's borders or for assisting citizens during disasters in remote areas.

The agreement on the provision of armored vehicles from the Bulgarian inventory to Ukraine was signed in Sofia on Aug. 8 and in Kyiv on Nov.13.

On Nov. 22, in the first and second reading, the Bulgarian parliament approved the provision of the vehicles with its available armament to Ukraine.