SOFIA, August 24. /TASS/. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev has pointed out that only a small number of EU countries have joined the Coalition of the Willing, and they do not speak for the entire Union.

"There is no need to speculate on the topic of the Coalition of the Willing. We all see how many leaders are in Ukraine today, there are fewer than you can count on two hands, and they do not represent the entire EU," he told reporters in Sofia.

Furthermore, the Bulgarian premier mentioned the FREYA initiative - a joint project by Ukraine and nine European countries, including the United Kingdom, aimed at creating their own missile shield as an alternative to the US network.

"Not a single Eastern European country, not even Poland, supported this initiative. The project requires substantial funding and advanced technology, yet its parameters remain absolutely unclear. If such an initiative is to be considered, the decision is to be made at the level of the Council of the European Union," Radev said.

Earlier in the day, a number of leaders from countries that make up the Coalition of the Willing held a meeting in Kiev, although some of them joined the discussion only remotely.