Delegations from 30 countries from the Balkans, the Middle East and Europe, including 8 Presidents from the region, are participating in the Aqaba Process for the Balkans summit on April 4. The meeting in Sofia is hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Rumen Radev. The forum was agreed upon during the Bulgarian President's official visit to Jordan. The participants in the forum discussed challenges related to security in the Balkans, the fight against terrorism, illegal migration and radicalisation.
The meeting was attended by the heads of state of the North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. President Rumen Radev noted that at a time when security is becoming a daily challenge, it is particularly important for the leaders of the countries to be able to exchange views in an informal setting and together seek ways to strengthen security.
"At a time of sharp deterioration of the security environment, it is particularly important to hear more voices of leaders and experts, to respect their opinions and proposals," President Rumen Radev said.
He also gave an example, suggesting that if this had been done regarding Ukraine, the fatal counteroffensive of 2023 would not have happened, according to him.
"There are not many leaders in Europe who live with the naive belief that by pouring more funds and weapons into Ukraine, they will manage to bring it to a position where it can achieve significant military successes and negotiate from a position of strength. It is clear that this will not happen. It will lead to what we have shared before —more destruction, more casualties, further distancing from peace, and the loss of even more territory by Ukraine," said Rumen Radev.
According to the Bulgarian head of state, the big challenge for the world is to free itself from the self-deception that peace can be guaranteed only for a specific country or region, or at the expense of another.
"And the lessons of history, that in times of global strife there can be no islands of peace and tranquillity, are often forgotten. It is the Balkans that are particularly sensitive on the issue of security because we directly suffer the consequences of military conflicts around our region. Conflicts that also fuel illegal human trafficking, migration, terrorism, radicalisation," the Head of State said.
The Aqaba Process is a series of international meetings first initiated by King Abdullah II of Jordan 10 years ago. The forum in Sofia is a continuation of the meetings held in the Jordanian city of Aqaba in 2016 and in the Albanian capital, Tirana, in 2018.
The forum in Sofia was closed to the media.
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