site.btaBulgarian Military Contingent Sent Off to Join Operational Reserve Force of NATO's KFOR

A Bulgarian military contingent had a sent-off in Blagoevgrad before it joins the Operational Reserve Force of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR). With the additional deployment of the contingent in Kosovo, we will now have around 300 troops, which is a significant contribution to the operation in Kosovo, Bulgarian Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov told journalists before the ceremony.

"The Bulgarian Armed Forces, especially with the mission abroad, is fulfilling the government policy for contributing to the stability and peace in the Western Balkans. I would like to stress that the order to activate the contingent came on Friday evening, Tuesday we are sending a contingent," the Chief of Defence said. "We are prepared, certified and I am confident that they will fulfil the tasks," he added.

Asked by a journalist whether there is a possibility of increasing the contingent in Kosovo, he said the situation is stable and recalled that the operation in Kosovo started with 50,000 troops and over the years this number has decreased in line with the changing situation. "So far, there are about 5,000 troops in Kosovo, which I think is sufficient at the moment and adequate to the situation," Admiral Eftimov said. According to him, the situation is stable and any situation gets response, which is why the mission commander has requested that this reserve be activated.

The servicemen, who are joining the NATO Stabilization Force operation in Kosovo, are mainly from the 3rd Brigade Command in Blagoevgrad. The Bulgarian contingent will perform tasks in support of the efforts to restore and maintain security in Kosovo.