Minister Velislava Petrova Participates in the Ukraine – Southeast Europe Summit
15 July 2026 News
Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova visited Kyiv to participate in the Ukraine – Southeast Europe Summit.
The fifth edition of the leaders' summit demonstrated the commitment of the region’s leaders to international efforts in support of Ukraine, its resilience and its recovery.
During a bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, Minister Petrova highlighted the importance of deepening bilateral cooperation in the energy sector and discussed opportunities to increase natural gas supplies. Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister underscored the country's key role in strengthening Eastern Europe's energy connectivity and expanding gas transmission capacity to Ukraine and Moldova. According to Minister Petrova, these efforts will be crucial both for Ukraine’s energy security during the coming winter and, in the longer term, for its post-war recovery and reconstruction. These issues also featured prominently in Minister Petrova’s meetings with Sergii Fedorenko, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Commercial Officer, and Oleksii Riabchyn, Chief International Relations and Sustainability Officer, of Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz.
Minister Petrova stated that Bulgaria would continue to maintain an active political dialogue with Ukraine and work towards expanding practical cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including energy, infrastructure connectivity and defence. She emphasised that the large Bulgarian national minority in Ukraine, which is the country’s largest historic Bulgarian diaspora abroad, remains a natural focus of bilateral relations and an important factor underpinning the shared interest of both countries in further strengthening their close cooperation.
As part of the visit, Minister Petrova also took part in a ceremony honouring the memory of the fallen Ukrainian defenders.
More photos
