Bulgaria's President Calls for European Security Rethink and Black Sea Peace Initiative

Bulgaria's President Iliana Iotova delivered a sweeping address to the 81st UN General Assembly, warning that Europe cannot sleepwalk into a new Cold War and announcing a concrete diplomatic initiative to secure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. Her remarks spanned UN Security Council reform, the Ukraine war, Middle East conflict, nuclear nonproliferation, AI governance, and human rights — positioning Bulgaria as a bridge-builder willing to challenge prevailing assumptions about European security.

• Bulgaria announces a Black Sea navigation security initiative, warning that disrupted grain and fertilizer exports risk global famine this winter

• Iotova calls for rethinking European security policy and shifting the Ukraine conflict from the battlefield to the negotiating table

• Sofia backs Security Council enlargement, including at least one additional non-permanent seat for Eastern European states

• Bulgaria demands Hamas's complete disarmament and reaffirms the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine

• Iotova pushes for AI development under human control and strengthened nuclear nonproliferation, including a long-term Iran deal under IAEA oversight

President Iotova placed the war in Ukraine at the center of her address, but her framing went beyond the expected solidarity language of an EU member state. She openly questioned whether the continent's current security posture is sustainable and called for a fundamental reassessment.