Развитието на дипломатическите отношения между България и Полша
The Development of Diplomatic Relations between Bulgaria and Poland

Summary/Abstract: Due to certain similarities in their historical development (discontinuance of statehood for longer periods of time, for one thing), Bulgarians and Poles have demonstrated time and again sympathy for each other. Bulgaria was among the first countries to recognize the restored Polish state after WWI. Diplomatic relations between the two countries can be divided into two main periods. The first period started officially with the opening of the legation of the Polish Republic in Sofia in January 1919 and (about two years later) of the legation of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in Warsaw, and ended with Bulgaria’s joining the Tripartite Pact in March 1941. Despite their converse positions regarding the post-WWI settlement, during this period the Bulgarian-Polish relations gradually developed into serious cooperation in trade, armaments, education, science, and culture. In 1939–1941, Bulgarians rendered much needed assistance to Poles whose lives were in danger after the aggression against their country. The second period in the development of Bulgarian-Polish relations that started officially in late 1945 has two distinct subperiods, with events of the late 1980s – early 1990s serving as the dividing line. Until then, relations between Bulgaria and Poland proceeded within the Eastern Bloc framework, as members of the COMECON and the Warsaw Pact. After the disintegration of the Eastern Bloc, with the two countries generally taking the same path of development, and despite national specificities playing a part in the speed of their joining NATO and the EU, Bulgaria and Poland found much common ground for mutual understanding. Currently, Sofia and Warsaw support projects like the Three Seas Initiative and the Via Carpathia highway network, and are actively opposing the idea of a two-speed or multi-speed Europe. At the end of the 21st century’s second decade, it can be said that Bulgarian-Polish relations are characterized by the prevalence of common interests.

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