MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that it was encouraged by Bulgarian politician Rumen Radev’s desire to resolve issues with Russia via pragmatic talks after he won a landslide election victory on Sunday.
Official results showed that Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had won convincingly, sidelining long-dominant political forces and potentially pushing the European Union and NATO member state closer to Moscow.
Radev, a former president and fighter pilot opposed to military support for Ukraine’s war effort against Moscow, has talked about improving ties with Moscow and resuming the free flow of Russian oil and gas into Europe.
Asked on Monday by a reporter about purported panic in Europe over Radev’s victory and whether Radev was a Russian “Trojan Horse”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
“…We are, of course, encouraged by the words of Mr. Radev, who won the elections, as well as those of certain other European leaders, regarding their readiness to resolve issues through dialogue.”
But Peskov said he thought it would be premature to draw wider conclusions about whether the overall political climate in Europe was changing given what he said were the usual statements – which he has in the past described as anti-Russian – emanating from the European Commission in Brussels.
(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova, Writing by Felix LightEditing by Andrew Osborn)
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