Bulgaria appoints Dragomir Zakov new defense minister

By Ihvan Radoykov

SOFIA (AA) - Dragomir Zakov was appointed Tuesday as Bulgaria’s new defense minister after Stefan Yanev was forced to resign because of his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov demanded Yanev resign because of his reluctance to describe the Russian attack on Ukraine as a war.

Zakov was appointed with 183 “yes” votes in the 240-seat parliament.

He has 20 years of experience in defense and international security and was serving as the Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to NATO since 2019.

- No minister has the right to his own policy on Facebook

Petkov told parliament that Yanev did not have the courage to call the Russia-Ukraine crisis a "war."

He noted that Yanev made contradictory posts on social media without consulting the Cabinet and said no minister has the right to his own policy on Facebook.

Petkov said that while at least 3,500 people have been sacrificed on both sides and thousands of Ukrainians of Bulgarian origin have come under fire, the Bulgarian community, apart from Yanev, sees the definition of the conflict as a "war."

*Writing by Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​