ОСНОВНІ НАПРЯМКИ СУЧАСНИХ УКРАЇНСЬКО-БОЛГАРСЬКИХ ВІДНОСИН (1991 – 2018 РР.)

Abstract

The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Ukrainian-Bulgarian diplomatic relations’ establishment. The independent shape of bilateral relations between the two countries founded back in 1918 and fruitfully developed both under the rule of the People’s Republic of Ukraine and Pavlo Skoropadskiy’s Ukrainian State has been dramatically interrupted by the Russian Soviet takeover of Ukraine. The present article touches upon the various aspects of contemporary Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations in the following spheres: that of politics and international relations, that of economic cooperation and that of social and cultural coexistence. The article as well outlines the following newly emerged elements of cooperation between Bulgaria and Ukraine under conditions of the Russian aggression against the latter: humanitarian collaboration, social reintegration and rehabilitation of the Ukrainian military and those living in the temporarily occupied territories. The article also accentuates of the external menace to the Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations, i.e. the national minorities’ harassment and the attempts at the quote unquote “People’s Republics” formation. It is concluded that the most fruitful and comprehensive sphere of collaboration between Ukraine and Bulgaria in 1991 – 2018 has been concentrated in the domains of economy (investments, trading goods and services) and of the social and cultural life. On the other hand, it is the national and cultural identity issues of Bulgarians in Ukraine that might bring about the internal unrest in Ukraine should the Russian Federation decide to “rock the boat” and make a point of the “self-determination of Bessarabia”.