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The European Union should engage diplomatically with Russia to bring the war in Ukraine to an end and avert a devastating nuclear attack, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev told Euronews’ Defence and Space Summit.
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Russia controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 4,400 stockpiled warheads, of which 1,796 are strategically deployed.
Radev also criticised Europe’s continued deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, which he dismissed as a failed “peace by force” strategy.
“There is a limit to just delivering weapons and supporting, because the final peace set-up will be done by diplomacy, not by delivering weapons. So our call is to listen more to each other, to open the lines of communication,” Radev said on Wednesday.
“The problem is that no one is raising the question about nuclear risk. Does it exist? Maybe not, I don’t know, but this is a risk,” he went on.
“We always need to think about the worst-case scenario. Are we prepared for this? Does anybody speak about risk assessment? Does it exist at all? Because we have been trying to achieve a conventional victory over the biggest nuclear power.”
Radev referred to the recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said a war between Russia and Europe would be “completely different” and “very short”, a comment seen as an implicit nuclear threat.
This week, Moscow sent NATO a document threatening to “use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons” to defend its territory from the alliance, according to Reuters.
Radev rejected “this type of speaking” from the Kremlin but urged his fellow European leaders to consider where an escalation might lead.
Tensions have been rising as Moscow ramps up its hybrid attacks against European countries in an attempt to instil societal fear and deter military support for Ukraine.
“There is a nuclear card,” the Bulgarian premier said, noting Russia would be prone to play it if weakened or cornered.
“We need to have this into account. We cannot close our eyes (to the fact) that there are nuclear weapons on our continent, there are nuclear weapons in the arsenal of Russia. And this is part of the game calculation.”
Since his election earlier this year, Radev has been in the minority that advocates closer diplomatic engagement with Russia to end the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria have also pushed for dialogue.
Others, however, argue that the Kremlin has little interest in meaningful negotiations and continues to insist on maximalist demands. A short meeting last week between the German foreign minister and Lavrov in New York ended up in bitter recriminations.
The White House’s attempts to achieve a temporary ceasefire have all failed. Russia has blocked the Black Sea and launched non-stop airstrikes on Ukrainian cities instead.
Radev seemed undeterred by this track record and insisted Europe should rebalance its “military, economic and diplomatic instruments” in favour of the last strand.
He also pushed back against the label “pro-Russian” that has been attached to his government, which this year vetoed sanctions against Patriarch Kirill.
“The war in Ukraine challenged our critical thinking and realistic approach,” he said.
“It challenged our ability to assess the strategic centre of gravity of the opponent. It challenged most of all our ability to design feasible political objectives and to translate them into a sound military strategy and to define a desired end state,” he added.
“We have not exhausted the power of diplomacy, and we need to do and to speak more.”
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