Bulgaria’s interim Prime Minister, Andrey Gyurov, said on Thursday that the country’s participation in the U.S.-led Board of Peace, launched by former President Donald Trump, does not reflect the official position of the Bulgarian government and was the result of political maneuvering by a single oligarch.
In an interview with Euronews broadcast during the European leaders’ summit in Brussels, Gyurov said that Bulgaria’s parliament has not ratified the agreement and that the country’s formal membership could still be challenged in the Constitutional Court.
“It would be an exaggeration to say this is the position of Bulgaria,” Gyurov said. “It was not a question of international politics – it was a personal question of one oligarch who is sanctioned by the Global Magnitsky Act. The signing of this treaty has to do with him being removed from this list of sanctions. What is surprising, unfortunately, is the influence of an oligarch in some parties.”
The oligarch, widely understood to be Delyan Peevski, has significant influence in Bulgarian politics from behind the scenes and is currently sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom for bribery and corruption.
Bulgaria was among a few European Union countries to join the Board of Peace, a controversial initiative launched in January by Trump. The move was initially pushed by former Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov and approved just days before his government collapsed amid the largest public protests Bulgaria has seen in decades.
Gyurov stressed that Bulgaria’s support is limited to the board’s original mission: the reconstruction of Gaza following the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. However, as Trump expanded the council’s mandate to cover global conflicts, Gyurov said Bulgaria’s involvement should be reconsidered.
“First, this agreement has not been ratified by the Bulgarian Parliament. We have not formally joined the Peace Council. Bulgaria supports the broad peace plan for Gaza, but I do not believe the rest of this agreement will ever be ratified,” he said.
The European Union has raised legal concerns over the council’s structure, mandate, and decision-making powers, pointing to Trump’s near-absolute authority as chair with no clear time limit. Gyurov said that while Bulgaria may play a limited role within the board, maintaining strong diplomatic relations with the United States remains essential.
“What is important is to preserve partnerships that have worked on both sides of the Atlantic for many years. It is important that we talk. What is also important is that we have a Europe that is strong and can stand on its own two feet,” he added.