The traditional water blessing ceremony of the battle flags and sacred banners of the Bulgarian Army took place in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Sofia. Bulgaria’s President and Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev participated at the ceremony and saluted the army units. 

“No one has raised the issue of deploying military bases in Bulgaria”, President Radev said after the water blessing ceremony on Epiphany. Rumen Radev voiced hopes that the Ukrainian crisis would be solved with diplomatic means. Bulgaria’s head of state Radev welcomed the government’s intentions to intensify the dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia. President Radev noted again that the constitutional protection of the rights of Macedonian Bulgarians and giving up hate speech would speed up the process.