The Bulgarian parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding declaration on Feb. 21 that would seek to halt any deployment of military forces to Ukraine.
European leaders have increased discussions of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in a potential peace settlement. Bulgaria backed out of signing a security deal with Ukraine in December citing potential peace talks.
The Bulgarian armed forces can not conduct military actions in Ukraine outside of its alliance and international commitments, the declaration read.
The declaration does not rule out Bulgarian forces participating in missions led by the United Nations (UN), EU, NATO, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In the declaration, the Bulgarian parliament called for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine and believes peace can be achieved through negotiations that include all directly impacted parties.
166 lawmakers voted in favor of the declaration, 27 lawmakers voted against, and 11 lawmakers abstained from voting.
Lawmakers from the ruling majority voiced that the purpose of the declaration was to reassure the Bulgarian public.
"We hope that as Bulgarians we’ll look after our own national interest," Boyko Borissov, leader of the ruling GERB party said.
Pro-Russian lawmakers voted against an amendment condemning Russian aggression.
Bulgaria has provided Ukraine with a variety of aid since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but the matter has been contentious due to significant pro-Russian sentiment in the country and opposition from President Rumen Radev.
European leaders have called for peacekeeping forces to be deployed in Ukraine to enforce a potential ceasefire.
The U.K. is reportedly leading a plan to have 30,000 peacekeeping troops deployed to Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
