ANKARA 

The Bulgarian government reiterated Tuesday that it favors a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine. 

“The (caretaker) government has never expressed a view that Bulgaria is on the verge of entering a war. On the contrary, we always favored the efforts to restore peace in the region by diplomatic means," Prime Minister Galab Donev said in a speech before parliament, according to state run-news agency, BTA.

He was answering a question from Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Korneliya Ninova about if a statement by Cabinet spokesman Anton Kutev in a National Radio interview that "Bulgaria is on the verge of war" expresses Kutev's personal view or if it is a view shared by the entire Cabinet.

Donev said the government is closely following developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine and is assessing risks and threats to its national security.

“The Bulgarian Cabinet, be it a caretaker one, is doing what is necessary to prepare the country in the event the conflict escalates and expands," he said.