Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said that Ukraine has expressed clear interest in possible joint production of drones with Bulgaria, following discussions between Prime Minister Rumen Radev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a European Council meeting in Brussels.
In an interview with bTV, Petrova outlined that the idea was raised by the Ukrainian side and is now expected to move into a more technical phase of consultation. She stressed that the concept is still at an early stage and depends heavily on expert-level negotiations before any concrete decisions can be made.
“This was presented as an opportunity by the Ukrainian side. There is going to be a discussion at the technical level. At first glance, it seems that this is a good opportunity where companies from both the private and public sectors can develop technology transfer and further increase their capacity. However, it is still too early to give an unequivocal answer, because a lot depends on how the talks will proceed at the expert level. There is certainly such a desire from the Ukrainian side,” Petrova said.
The comments follow last week’s meeting between Radev and Zelensky, where both leaders reportedly discussed broader cooperation beyond energy security, including industrial collaboration and potential joint initiatives in defense technology. According to the Bulgarian government, energy stability in the region was also a key topic, with discussions covering gas supplies, electricity generation, and transmission infrastructure.
