Prime Minister Boyko Borissov described the Russia-Ukraine tension as an “enormous threat” to Bulgaria.

In a lecture at the Royal Diplomatic Academy of Morocco in Rabat, he compared the conflict in the Black Sea with the wars in the former Yugoslavia. In Boyko Borissov’s words, as has happened in the Balkans many times, one matchstick can spark an “infernal fire” in the Black Sea and the region, for which all prerequisites are at hand. He expressed the hope that the Russian authorities will release the Ukrainian ships and their crews and the conflict will be avoided.

In his lecture, Prime Ministrer Borissov warmed of the potential danger of 40 million economic migrants from Africa heading for the EU. Laying an emphasis on Bulgaria’s efforts to safeguard the union’s external border and the role of the agreement with Turkey, Borissov stressed that Europe should not be the only one to bear the brunt of the critical economic situation in Africa.