UK Ambassador: There Is Always a Difference Between National Interests and What Is Right

This month, Bulgaria is marking, 150 years since the April Uprising. To mark the occasion, the British Embassy is organising a touring exhibition that will tell the story of William Gladstone's connection with the uprising.

Speaking on Bulgarian National Television's morning programme "The Day Begins" on April 9, the UK Ambassador, Nathaniel Copsey, said the exhibition aims to show the impact of the uprising on British public opinion and politics. He noted that Gladstone’s book 'Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East' had a profound influence, with around 200,000 copies published within three months.

The exhibition will open in Sofia on 15 April and run until 2 May, before moving to Koprivshtitsa. In June, it will be shown in Veliko Tarnovo and Ruse, before concluding in Varna in August.

The exhibition is interactive, featuring video materials, conversations with a digital version of Gladstone, as well as photographs and documents from the period of the April Uprising.

“I ask the questions about the April Uprising – why he decided to write the book and what his interest was as a British politician. There is nothing personal in it – what matters is that Gladstone did what was right and moral, even though it was not in the interests of Great Britain. At the time, it was clear who the aggressor was and who the victim,” said Ambassador Nathaniel Copsey.

H.E. Nathaniel Copsey, UK Ambassador to Bulgaria: “There is always a difference between national interests and what is right. Today we have international institutions such as the United Nations that can determine who is right and who is not, but in the 19th century this did not exist.”

Copsey highlighted the importance of cooperation between the United Kingdom and Bulgaria in the current geopolitical context:

H.E. Nathaniel Copsey, UK Ambassador to Bulgaria: “Bulgaria is a friend and partner of the United Kingdom – we are working together in support of Ukraine and in countering Russian aggression. We are also seeking to protect Europe’s borders and prevent illegal migration, which is a top priority for our government in the United Kingdom.”