Bulgarian prime minister calls on Europe to dialogue with Russia to avert a nuclear attack

“We must always think about the worst-case scenario,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at the Euronews Defence Summit, warning of the risk of a Russian nuclear attack if tensions with Europe escalate.

He added that the European Union should engage diplomatically with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and avert a devastating nuclear attack.

Russia controls the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with around 4,400 stockpiled nuclear warheads, of which 1,796 are strategically deployed.

Radev also criticised Europe’s continued supplies of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, which he called a failed “peace through strength” strategy.

“There is only so far the distribution of weapons and support can go, because the final settlement of peace will be made through diplomacy, not by distributing weapons. So our call is to listen to each other more, to open the lines of communication,” Radev said on Tuesday.

“The problem is that nobody is raising the issue of the nuclear risk. Does it exist? Maybe not, I don’t know, but it is a risk,” he continued.

“We must always think about the worst-case scenario. Are we prepared for it? Is anyone talking about risk assessment? Does it even exist? Because we have tried to achieve a conventional victory over the largest nuclear power.”

Radev referred to the recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said a war between Russia and Europe would be “completely different” and “very short”, a comment seen as an implicit nuclear threat.

Radev rejected “this kind of talk” from the Kremlin, but called on other European leaders to consider where an escalation could lead.

Tensions have risen as Moscow has stepped up its hybrid attacks against European countries, in an effort to sow social fear and hinder military support for Ukraine.

“There is a nuclear card,” the Bulgarian prime minister said, noting that Russia would be inclined to play it if it were weakened or cornered.

“We have to bear this in mind. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there are nuclear weapons on our continent, there are nuclear weapons in Russia’s arsenal. And this is part of the calculus of the game.”