U.S. 'deeply concerned' by Bulgarian president's Crimea comments

FILE PHOTO: Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev arrives for an EU leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. Olivier Hoslet/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SOFIA (Reuters) - The United States has expressed deep concern over comments by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev that the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 is "Russian", the U.S. embassy in Sofia said on Monday.

Radev, who won a second presidential term in a runoff in the European Union country on Sunday, has pledged to keep close ties with Bulgaria's NATO allies, but has also called for a pragmatic relationship with Russia.