A parliamentarian in the Republic of Bulgaria, Vladislav Panev, has assured of his country’s commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Featuring on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja, Mr Panev said his country’s government would continue supporting Ukraine until the war with Russia ended.

Speaking on the Russia-Ukraine war, Mr Panev described the situation as “horrible”, hoping it ends with Ukraine keeping its territorial integrity.

“Firstly, I must say it is a horrible situation, horrible war, and horrible invasion of Russia into Ukraine.

“We are committed to Ukraine’s integrity, territorial integrity, and we will help Ukraine till the end of this war,” he stated.

Mr Panev added, “We are welcoming Ukrainians who live in Bulgaria; we have a great shortage of labour force; our labour market wants more and more workers.”

The parliamentarian recounted that at the beginning of the war, Bulgaria imported 100 per cent of its natural gas from Russia.

“It imported 60 per cent of its oil from Russia. From March 1 this year, these percentages are zero, both for natural gas and oil. So we made our transition even though it was not easy,” he said.

According to him, natural gas prices went up several times in 2022 but now have stabilised back to their normal levels.

He attributed this to the ability of his country’s government to manage and diversify its portfolio of oil and gas imports.

Mr Panev, also the chairman of the Bulgaria-Nigeria Parliamentary Friendship Group, said five parliamentarians from Bulgaria were on a five-day visit to Nigeria on the invitation of the Nigerian National Assembly.

(NAN)