On the occasion of reproaches against Bulgaria and its President that came from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow during his visit to Bulgaria on March 3, President Rumen Radev commented that "Patriarch Kirill came to Bulgaria as a spiritual leader but chose to leave as a politician."

According to the Bulgarian Head of State, however, the important question was who tried to turn the common celebration of the Liberation of Bulgaria into an issue of division and to exploit the crisis in Bulgarian-Russian relations.

Our gratitude to Russia is the gratitude of free people and it does not come at the expense of our dignity, the president said, adding that he would not become a hostage to emotions, but would work for the revival of Bulgarian-Russian relations that others have been trying to ruin for years.