Bulgaria presidential candidate vows to improve relations with Russia
SOFIA - The main opposition contender in Bulgaria's presidential election vowed on Monday to seek better relations with Russia and a lifting of European Union sanctions against Moscow that he called harmful to both sides.
Rumen Radev, a former air force commander, also said in an interview with Reuters that he would pursue a balanced foreign policy taking into account Bulgaria's membership in NATO and the EU but based on national interest.
Radev is the closest rival to Tsetska Tsacheva, the candidate of the ruling centre-right GERB party in the Nov. 6 vote. Analysts say the Black Sea state's next president will most likely emerge from a close run-off between them.
"Bulgaria is a member of NATO and the EU, this is our strategic choice which has no alternative, but we should not look on Russia as an enemy," said Radev, whose Socialist Party (BSP) is the largest opposition force in Bulgaria.
