“Protests are a democratic right and restore the hopes and the dignity of Bulgarians,” said President Rumen Radev, commenting on the recent civic protests throughout the country, but added that a possible resignation by the government at a time of rising prices, inflation, growing crime rate, is not a solution, but an abdication of responsibility.

“The protests are only logical because the administration is punishing citizens by poverty, which it is unable to tackle,” the President said. He stated he did not know whether the discontent was politically staged, as some analysts are saying, but that no one can bring people out into the streets by force.

Rumen Radev was speaking during a visit to the town of Karlovo for the commemoration of 100 years since the end of World War I.