US concerned by Bulgarian president’s remarks about Crimea

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has drawn criticism from the United States for his remarks about the status of the Crimean Peninsula. It came Monday after he secured his second term with a landslide victory in a runoff election Sunday. The U.S. Embassy released a statement voicing “deep concern” over Radev’s recent comments in which he referred to Crimea as Russian. The peninsula was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. NATO and the European Union both consider it still to be part of Ukraine. Radev’s remarks had already prompted protests from the Ukrainian government.