SOFIA, January 1. /TASS/. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev called for support of the efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine in his New Year's address to the nation.

"The past year was dramatic for the world, wars led to the deaths of thousands of people, but there are also the first hopes for their cessation. I believe that our country should unequivocally support efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. The risk of conflict expansion persists, and we should not expect someone else to protect our interests if we are not able to do so ourselves," Radev said.

Radev welcomed the introduction of the single European currency in the country on January 1, but expressed regret that the decision to abandon the national currency - the leva - and to introduce the euro was made without taking into account the opinion of the people.

"I am convinced that the abandonment of our national currency should have occurred after a referendum, taking into account the opinion of the people, but the ruling majority did not want to hear their citizens. This refusal was one of the dramatic symptoms of a deep gap between the political class and the people, which was confirmed by the mass protests across the country," the president said.

He said that during the mass protests, citizens "demanded democracy, justice, fair elections, objective media, a real European perspective and a decent life. We are facing parliamentary elections, and elections of a new president will be held in the fall. We must not repeat old mistakes and must stop going in circles. To bring democracy back, we must not waste the energy and hope that was born in the squares, the opportunity to change Bulgaria. We are ready, we can and we must do this."