site.btaUPDATED NATO Secretary General Visits Novo Selo Training Area

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Thursday arrived at the Novo Selo training area, where he was familiarized with the activities of the Multinational Battle Group with Italy as framework nation and Bulgaria as host nation. This was Rutte's first visit to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria's Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov and the Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov conferred with the NATO Secretary General. Later in the day, Rutte and the two Bulgarian ministers gave a joint briefing at the training area.

Mark Rutte said: "Bulgaria plays a key role in NATO's security, both in the Black Sea region and beyond. This Multinational Battle Group is exercising the ability to scale up to brigade size, supporting NATO's security on the Eastern Flank. I'm happy to say that Bulgaria is spending at least 2% of GDP, and is even spending more on defence as agreed a couple of years ago."

He went on to say it is crucial that the NATO Member States keep defence spending as high as possible, although all of them are confronted with budget deficits. He said he wanted to encourage all Allies to spend more and to produce more in terms of defence industrial production.

"Bulgaria is also helping Ukraine to defend against the Russian aggression," the NATO Secretary General said. He thanked Bulgaria for "its great contribution to helping Ukraine to be able one day to start peace talks from a position of strength". In conclusion, he thanked Bulgaria for its "enormous contribution to our shared security".

Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said that Bulgaria needs to increase its military spending if it wants to equip its army with personnel and modern weapons. "The increase in salaries for military personnel starting from next year is absolutely necessary, and I once again urge the Bulgarian Parliament to support the budget," the Defence Minister added. There is the proble of undermanning, particularly in some units of the Land Forces, and the modernization of the Bulgarian Armed Forces must continue, Zapryanov further emphasized. 

The Defence Minister pointed out that by 2032, thirteen projects must be completed, of which only four have started so far.In his view, this cannot be achieved without increasing defence spending. "Freedom, independence and territorial integrity must be defended, and for that, armed forces are necessary," he said.

Asked to comment on the deferred signing of the Security Cooperation Agreement with Ukraine, Zapryanov said the agreement is political in nature and does not constitute a binding international treaty. "The military section of the agreement envisages activities and actions which are already being carried out, and there is nothing new. To my knowledge, there will be a separate discussion on this topic in Parliament at a later stage," he said.

The visit of the NATO Secretary General is a sign of respect for the work and contribution of NATO's military personnel in the Multinational Battle Group deployed in Bulgaria, the Defence Minister added.

Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov pointed out that with his visit the NATO Secretary General sends a clear signal of encouragement and support to the Allied forces on Bulgarian territory and to Bulgaria as a reliable NATO member, Kondov's Ministry said in a press release. Bulgaria's chief diplomat said that in the last 20 years Sofia has played a crucial role in maintaining security both in the Black Sea region and in the Western Balkans, and the role of the NATO Multinational Battle Group is crucial in ensuring a more secure environment on the Eastern Flank and throughout the Euro-Atlantic area.

Kondov stressed that Bulgaria attributes particular importance to the strengthening of security on the Eastern Flank, in line with the decisions of the NATO Summits in Washington and Vilnius, highlighting the Bulgarian commitment to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence in the coming years.

The Foreign Minister said Bulgaria will continue to support Ukraine in its effort to prevail against Russian aggression - both through the recently established NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), through the EU mechanisms, and bilaterally, in order to strengthen the overall combat readiness of the Ukrainian forces.

Kondov expressed hope that the Multinational Battle Group will be upgraded to a brigade and that Bulgaria will meet all its commitments, including spending 2% of GDP on defence.