The Prime Minister of Bulgaria declined to sign the agreement with Ukraine.

It was anticipated that the document would be signed on Thursday during the meeting between Prime Minister Galabov and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels "on the sidelines" of the EU summit. However, the Bulgarian Prime Minister unexpectedly told many commentators that he first needed to consult with Parliament, even though such an agreement does not require formal ratification.

As a result, the agreement was not signed. Over the past year, Ukraine has signed similar documents with the majority of NATO and EU countries.

As noted by the Bulgarian service of RFE/RL, Galabov's unexpected decision could jeopardize negotiations for forming a new government. Bulgaria has not had a stable cabinet for several years, and there have been several early elections that did not yield a clear winner. Currently, negotiations are being conducted by parties whose positions regarding support for Ukraine differ. Galabov heads a technical cabinet of ministers.

The Prime Minister explained his decision by stating that he cannot sign an agreement for a term of 10 years without parliamentary consent. His opponents argue that the Prime Minister has played into the hands of Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, who is skeptical about military assistance to Ukraine.

On Friday, Orban visited Bulgaria. During a meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, it was stated that Sofia would continue to transit Russian gas to Hungary - despite the U.S. sanctions imposed on the "Turkish Stream" pipeline.

"Ukrainian Truth" notes that only six out of the 27 EU member states – Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Malta, and Cyprus – have not signed an agreement on cooperation with Ukraine in the field of security. Moreover, Austria, Malta, and Cyprus are not NATO members, while Hungary and Slovakia pursue policies that differ from the majority of EU and NATO countries, refusing military assistance to Ukraine.

Commentators also highlight a shift in position from one of Bulgaria's largest parties, GERB. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, it has supported Ukraine. However, commenting on the potential cooperation agreement with Ukraine, its leader Boyko Borisov stated that just six months ago, his party would have categorically supported such a deal, but today "the situation has changed," as "discussions in Europe and the U.S. about achieving peace in Ukraine have intensified." He compared the conclusion of a contract in this situation to "buying a factory on September 9" (in Bulgaria, there is an expression "to buy a factory on September 8," which means making a very poor deal. It refers to events during World War II: on September 9, 1944, a pro-Soviet coup occurred in Bulgaria, after which the communists came to power and nationalized factories and plants).

In his discussions, Borisov was presumably referring primarily to the expectations of peace initiatives from the elected U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized that he will seek to end the war in Ukraine, hinting at the need for concessions from Kyiv as well. Viktor Orban, who calls himself an ally of Trump, according to Bloomberg's report, informed EU leaders that he would not consent to the extension of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia until Trump's inauguration. These sanctions are renewed every six months, with the next renewal expected at the end of January — just 11 days after Trump takes office.

The lack of a stable government and the rise of nationalist and pro-Russian sentiments, as expressed in the results of the recent parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, are seen by several analysts as harbingers of a possible shift in the country's foreign policy orientation and even the establishment of an authoritarian regime.