Prime Minister Petkov removes Bulgaria’s Defence Minister for saying Russia’s invasion isn’t ‘war’

Sofia, Bulgaria: The Defence Minister of Bulgaria – Stefan Yanev, has been removed from the office after his statement on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Yanev stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could not be called a “war”.  

The decision will be further approved yesterday by an extraordinary council of ministers and then by parliament today. 

People have been criticising the leader for making the remark. The backlash by people started from a post on which Yanev commented while asking the people to “not to use the term ‘war’ lightly, and rather would be called as a ‘military operation’. 

The general public anointed him, echoing the language of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The news came on Monday when it was confirmed that the Prime Minister of Bulgaria – Kiril Petkov, dismissed the Defence Minister from his post.  

 Prime Minister Petkov, in his statement, noted, “No minister in this government has the right to his own foreign policy, especially on Facebook. No minister can tell the government that his stay is a function of cabinet stability.” 

“This government will not pursue stability; it will pursue the right actions and principled positions“, the prime minister following the above statement further underscored. 

A petition to remove the Defence Minister has also been signed by tens of thousands of people. Meanwhile, several NGOs of the European country have also been demanding the removal of Yanev for the past many days, citing his behaviour as ‘inappropriate’. 

Prime Minister Petkov, in conversation with the journalists, noted, “When we see that one Slavic country is attacking another Slavic country in a fratricidal war, without a real reason, we must state clearly – this war must stop. We, as the EU, must do everything possible to end this. 

A country must express their opinion and condemn these types of actions and policies, the prime minister added.