site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva Assures NATO Deputy Secretary General Gottemoeller of Bulgaria's Political Support for NATO

Sofia, May 5 (BTA) - "Bulgaria remains firmly committed to its political support for NATO," Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, who is paying a working visit to Sofia, Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release on Saturday.

The two exchanged views on the pact's open door policy and the Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkan countries.

The guest highly commended Bulgaria for signing the Friendship Treaty with the Republic of Macedonia, which set a positive example to all countries in the region, the press release says.

Zaharieva stressed the special importance of NATO and the EU confronting hybrid threats together and taking urgent joint measures against them within the context of their cooperation.

The chief Bulgarian diplomat recalled that, in line with the Wales Summit decisions, this country has agreed to increase its defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP and has recently allocated an extra 100 million leva for Bulgarian military personnel salaries. "We strongly appreciate all this," Gottemoeller responded, noting that she had been able to feel Bulgaria's strong support for NATO within less than 24 hours during her meetings here.