President Iliyana Yotova told the UN Black Sea should become a zone of national and international security, not a zone of higher risk. She said the region should turn into a place of free transport, energy, trade and digital corridors, open for tourism and for peaceful contact between different cultures, religions and political systems.
Yotova spoke during the general debate at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, where she leads the Bulgarian delegation. Security and stability in the Black Sea region were at the heart of her speech.
"The war in Ukraine has spilled out of the territorial waters of the countries in conflict, and that affects Bulgaria directly, here and now. What was a regional problem in the Black Sea has turned into a global one," Yotova said. Russia launched a full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022.
The president said the war's fallout, combined with the war in Iran and low water levels on the Danube, could trigger a food crisis. She also raised the issue of the balance of marine ecosystems in the Black Sea, now under even greater threat because of the war.
Yotova said Bulgaria is working on an initiative for free and safe shipping in the Black Sea. The country will seek agreement and joint action from states in the region and from all interested parties. "We are convinced this issue deserves the UN's attention," she said.
Speaking at the UN, the president paid tribute to Captain Marin Marinov, who was killed in the Gaza Strip while on a humanitarian mission.