Bulgaria's PM believes EU should lead negotiations with Russia on war in Ukraine

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev believes that the European Union should take a leading role in negotiations with Russia to put an end to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As reported by Bloomberg, Radev noted that the EU is already late in taking the initiative and called for "a real change" in the EU's "overall policy" regarding the war in Ukraine.

"I would be glad to see Europe finally agreeing to start negotiations with Russia; not only to start – Europe should have been the leader in these negotiations. This is Europe's important mission," he believes.

Radev also said he is concerned with Europe's desire to "achieve a conventional victory over the largest nuclear power without having the ability to intercept and counter Russia's modern hypersonic weapons".

"We must realise that what has been happening in recent days and the desire to have peace through force at all costs can lead to nuclear escalation. We are already very close to this and Europe must very quickly reassess its strategy and approach to this conflict," he said.

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, believes Russia is currently not in a sufficiently strong position in its war against Ukraine and therefore must be pushed to the negotiating table – something that China could help achieve.

Meanwhile, Paula Pinho, spokesperson for the European Commission, said that any discussion on the appointment of an EU envoy to peace talks on Ukraine should come only once Russia shows a genuine willingness to end the war.