Bulgarian president vetoes agreement with Ukraine on supply of armoured personnel carriers

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has vetoed an agreement for the donation of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry’s surplus armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, which had been approved by the Bulgarian parliament on November 22, the presidential press service reported.

"The armoured personnel carriers [to be] provided to Ukraine could be used to protect the Bulgarian border and to help the population in case of disasters and accidents. The life and health of Bulgarian citizens should be the top priority," the president pointed out, sending the agreement back to parliament for reconsideration, TASS reports.

Earlier, lawmakers approved an agreement between the Bulgarian Interior Ministry and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on the provision of armoured transport equipment free of charge.

A total of 152 deputies from the ruling majority voted in favour of transferring the equipment, while 57 deputies from opposition parties voted against it.

The Ukrainian side was to receive armoured transport vehicles equipped with arms that the Bulgarian Interior Ministry does not use, comprising about 100 armoured personnel carriers in total, as well as spare parts. The exact number of equipment units that was to be delivered is classified.