site.btaThorough Modernization of Armed Forces Will Take BGN 37 Bln - Deputy Defence Minister

The thorough modernization of the Bulgarian Armed Forces is estimated to take over BGN 37 billion, Deputy Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said here Wednesday. He was among the speakers at a conference on the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's entry in NATO held in Sofia's Central Military Club.

The forum started Tuesday and will last three days.

Zapryanov said that if Parliament adopts a schedule of defence investment, it will guarantee the defence capabilities of top priority.

He underscored the recruitment crisis in the Armed Forces.

Zapryanov sees a parallel between 1949 and the geopolitical situation now. "The country which prompted the establishment of NATO - the USSR - is the same but in a different format," he said. He argued that the North Atlantic Treaty is so perfect that it never needed any amendments in the past 75 years and is still very much adequate today as Russia is trying to widen its sphere of influence.