site.btaPrime Minister Borissov: Sending Army Troops to the Border with Turkey Has Never Been Discussed

Prime Minister Borissov: Sending Army Troops to the Border with Turkey Has Never Been Discussed

Sofia, January 7 (BTA) - In all the meetings that have been held
and with my personal participation in some sending army troops
to the border with Turkey has never been raised as an issue,
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said. He was speaking on the
subject of refugees and border control before the members of the
cabinet at the government's regular Wednesday meeting. The
issue of the refugees was also discussed in relation to the
expected increased immigration in the beginning of the spring.
Part of the minutes of the meeting was published on the
government website.

The idea for the Bulgarian Army to participate in guarding the
border with Turkey is "not a good one, to put it mildly," said
President Rosen Plevneliev on Tuesday. According to him, the
Army's participation could turn into a very serious foreign
policy problem for Bulgaria.

Borissov notes that Greece and Turkey use their military
formations but the issue has never been raised in Bulgaria. "We
have never talked of sending motorized or any other sort of
military. We have discussed whether some of Bulgaria's 20 or so
thousand Bulgarian military could be used as logistics, for
example as truck drivers," Borissov specifies.

The Prime Minister also notes that the completion of the
temporary fencing along the border requires an additional 40-50
million leva, underscoring that the facility is temporary.

Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva adds that the refugee
accommodation facilities are full and Deputy Prime Minister
Ivailo Kalfin also explains that there is some misunderstanding
on the subject of border protection.

Borissov expresses hope that President Rosen Plevneliev will
convene a Consultative Council with al parties on the subject
soon.

A total of 38,502 persons attempted to enter he territory of
Bulgaria were registered in 2014 Ц 2.3 times more than in 2013
when there were 16,736 attempted entries.