Bulgaria will oppose the European Union's proposed 21st package of sanctions against Russia unless two names are removed from the list: Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Vagit Alekperov, one of the heads of Lukoil's Bulgarian business.

Rumen Radev emphasized that he would do that in order to defend Bulgaria's national interests

Italy has aligned with Bulgaria in raising objections to the European Union's proposal to sanction Russian Patriarch Kirill as part of the bloc's 21st package of measures against…