Pro-Russian elected Bulgarian president

EU MEMBER Bulgaria headed yesterday into fresh political turbulence after a former airforce commander seen as more sympathetic to Russia triumphed in presidential elections, prompting Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to quit.

In his victory speech, Rumen Radev reiterated his opposition to EU sanctions on Russia and praised new US Presidentelect Donald Trump for “seeking more dialogue” with President Vladimir Putin.

“This gives a lot of hope for reducing [the risk] of confrontation, particularly in Syria” where Russia and the US are backing opposite sides in a bloody civil war, the fighter pilot said.

He won 59.4 percent of the vote, well ahead of the more Western-leaning Tsetska Tsacheva, Borisov’s uninspiring handpicked candidate, who garnered just 36.2 percent, near-complete official results showed yesterday.

The outcome was mirrored in Moldova, anex-communistnationwedgedbetween Ukraine and Romania, where the proRussian Igor Dodon beat his pro-European rival Maia Sandu to the presidency.

“The results clearly show that the ruling coalition no longer holds the majority,” Borisov said on Sunday evening as he threw in the towel. “I apologise to those who supported us. I thought I was doing the right thing . . . If Bulgarians want a political crisis then they shall have one.”

Bulgaria is now set for months of political inertia. An interim government will govern until fresh elections, which are not expected until March at the earliest.

Radev’s clear support for the lifting of sanctions on Russia and ambivalent statements about the EU, NATO and Crimea have prompted speculation that Bulgaria could lean more towards Moscow. This could further undermine unity within the EU, already reeling from June’s Brexit vote, in its stance towards Russia just as Trump’s surprise election victory raises worries about the future of NATO.