site.btaGovernment Adopts Bulgaria's Position for NATO's Warsaw Summit

Government Adopts Bulgaria's Position for NATO's Warsaw Summit

Sofia, June 24 (BTA) - At an extraordinary meeting on Friday, Bulgaria's Council of Ministers adopted the country's position for the NATO Summit which will be held in Warsaw between July 8 and 9.

Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev told a subsequent news briefing that Bulgaria's expectations are for better coordination among the NATO allies, closer cooperation with the EU and adaptation to a considerably changing security environment. "We obtained approval from the ministers and the Prime Minister. We feel prepared and we will go [to Warsaw] filled with hope," Nenchev said. He added that President Rosen Plevneliev, who is also Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, was informed about the Council of Ministers intentions and decisions.

Some of these decisions concern the expected "forward deployment" in the Baltic states and in Poland. Bulgaria will commit an up-to-400-strong battalion to a future multinational brigade in Romania on a rotation basis. The battalion will actually be stationed in Bulgaria and will share in joint NATO exercises and training events as needed, Nenchev said.

The Warsaw Summit will review the progress made with respect to the NATO Force Integration Units which have been established in six European capitals, including Sofia, he went on to say.

Other matters on the agenda include NATO's involvement in the Middle East and concrete decisions about peacekeeping missions and possible peaceful solutions to the Middle East crisis. Defence investment will be discussed as well, the Bulgarian Defence Minister predicted.

He said: "I am going to the meeting filled with much hope and satisfaction, because Bulgaria has fulfilled the Wales requirements. The country has adopted a Defence Capabilities Development Programme and an accompanying plan, and it has adopted investment projects for the acquisition of multi-role aircraft and two patrol ships."

The NATO meeting is also expected to discuss cyber security and cyber defence, Nenchev said. He recalled that Bulgaria's Consultative Council on National Security has made concrete decisions in this field. The draft of a national cyber defence strategy has been prepared and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has given assurances that it will be approved by the Council of Ministers next week, Nenchev said.

Discussing hybrid threats, the Defence Minister announced that Bulgaria is devising a programme and the underlying idea is that such threats should be viewed as a common concern for all NATO members and should be included in the bloc's training plans.

"NATO reforms and the need for more active and more effective interaction with the EU will be one of the main points about which we express our firm position for much closer cooperation in the field of defence," Nenchev said.

Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov told the news briefing that Bulgaria has never agreed to share in any regional defence initiatives for the Black Sea. Mitov said: "Bulgaria insists that the increasingly intensive exercises which are building up the defence capacity of Bulgaria and NATO should proceed under NATO command in accordance with the Montreux Convention. Bulgaria and NATO have no use for military confrontation. The sanctions are working well."

The Foreign Minister insisted that NATO's northeastern flank should be treated in the same way as the southeastern flank.