site.btaDefence Minister Expects RatificationThis Month of Agreement with Poland on MiG 29 Repairs

Defence Minister Expects Ratification This Month of Agreement with Poland on MiG 29 Repairs

Brussels/Sofia, October 9 (BTA) - Bulgarian Defence Minister Nickolay Nenchev said Thursday he expects the agreement with Poland on repair works of the engines of the Bulgarian MiG 29 jet fighters to be ratified by the National Assembly within one or two weeks. Speaking to Bulgarian reporters in Brussels, Nenchev said that the document will be signed by the two sides after it is first ratified.

In Brussels Nenchev took part in a meeting of NATO defence ministers.

Taking a question, Nenchev said that the term of the agreement is not of such a great importance because it has a clause whereby if Bulgaria decides to repair other engines and aircraft, this can be done by means of an annex, without a procedure via the Council of Ministers and Parliament.

"This is a geo-strategic choice which we had the courage to make," Nenchev said. In his words, the decisions from the NATO meetings are to overcome the dependence on external countries. Nenchev noted that the price of the repair works in Poland is by 40 per cent lower than the one proposed by the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG. "This makes me think that in the past there has been rather serious misuse," Nenchev said.

He said he has been assured by the Prime Minister of the will to purchase a new aircraft for the Air Forces. Nenchev relayed this to his NATO colleagues and was given a very high mark.

"In the past several days things happened in Bulgaria showing a clear will for the country to be an active and strongly integrated NATO member," the Defence Minister said, noting the decision of the government to approve the programme for the development of Bulgaria's defence capabilities, the discussions on the joint air policing, and the endorsement of the aircraft repair agreement with Poland.

At the meeting Nenchev noted the importance of developing a national concept on the hybrid war, which should be coordinated with NATO's strategy on the matter, the Defence Ministry said in a press release. He supported the idea for the creation of a hub for expertise and exchange of information on hybrid war issues in NATO's HQ.

In Brussels Nenchev conferred with NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Philip M. Breedlove. The two discussed Bulgaria's contribution to the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan and the preparation of the NATO Force Integration Unit for attaining full interoperability, as well as the country's contribution to NATO operations.

Nenchev also held bilateral meetings with his Greek and Georgian counterparts, Panos Kammenos and Tinatin Khidasheli and discussed questions related to the development of the defence cooperation.

BTA correspondent in Brussels Nickolay Jeliazkov contributed to this report.