site.btaBulgaria Proposes to Teach Ukrainian Pilots English - Defence Minister

Defence Minister Todor Tagarev, who is in Brussels for a two-day Meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence, told reporters on Thursday that the Bulgarian delegation proposed to have Bulgarian educators teach English language to Ukrainian pilots and engineering staff, so that the Ukrainian staff can have the linguistic skills necessary to start learning to operate aircraft.

The Minister reported that Bulgaria is joining the unofficial coalition related to the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots. Responding to a question, he said that there has been no delay in the delivery of F-16s to the Bulgarian Air Force, and no such delay is expected.

Tagarev added that the process of handing over the armoured personnel carriers from Bulgaria to Ukraine will begin after the ratification of the bilateral agreement. This aid is significant and can do Ukraine a lot of good, he said.

Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye can soon be expected to set up a group to clean mines in the Black Sea. "We have been working for about two months, we have agreed in principle to establish a mine action group. Maybe after the upcoming meeting in Turkiye this operation will start contributing to our security," Tagarev said.

Commenting on the Hamas attack on Israel, Tagarev said: "We recognize that Israel is the target of an unprovoked horrific attack. Everyone has condemned this attack". He added that NATO defence ministers have not discussed what a proportionate response to the Hamas attack would be.