Patriarch Kirill
Bulgaria also opposed the inclusion of Vagit Alekperov, a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin and the major oil company Lukoil, on the sanctions list.
Both names were definitively removed from the draft sanctions package at an extraordinary meeting of ambassadors on Sunday, which was aimed at reaching a final agreement, Euronews reports, citing several diplomats.
Bulgaria’s Firm Stance on the Veto
The removal of these names was entirely expected, given Bulgaria’s firm stance on vetoing the measure, which Prime Minister Rumen Radev publicly confirmed last month.
The European Union first attempted to add Kirill to the sanctions list in 2022. But Hungary, under then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, blocked the move, calling it a matter of religious freedom.
The issue remained at a standstill until this spring, when Peter Magyar’s government announced its willingness to reconsider its position. EU representatives took advantage of this and included Kirill’s name in a draft list of individuals subject to sanctions. However, the plan soon ran into stiff resistance from Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church are administratively independent and have different patriarchs, but both belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, share the same faith and dogmas, and are bound by cultural and historical ties.
“The era of the Crusades is over. I’m not interested in the Russian patriarch as an individual. What interests me is that he is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, which belongs to Eastern Orthodoxy, just like our church,” Radev said. “I am concerned about the millions of people who belong to this church.”
Bulgaria refused to“shoot itself in the foot”
Another name that Radev sought to have removed from the list was Vagit Alekperov, a Russian oligarch and founder of Lukoil. Alekperov stepped down as the company’s president in 2022 amid growing international pressure, but retained a stake in the energy conglomerate.
According to Radev, adding Alekperov to the sanctions list would mean “shooting ourselves in the foot” due to a 3 billion euro compensation lawsuit that Lukoil filed in connection with the state takeover of the Neftochim Burgas oil refinery, the largest in the region.
Sofia appointed a special administrator for this major complex in November 2025 after the U.S. administration imposed crippling sanctions against Lukoil and forced the multinational company to put its international assets up for sale.
The oil refinery, which generates billions of euros in annual revenue, no longer uses Russian oil.
