site.btaPublic Attitudes to NATO Are Nuanced but Idea for Bulgarian Exit Is Widely Rejected - Discussion

March 19 (BTA) - There are obvious nuances in the public
attitudes to NATO in Bulgaria but there are no extremes or
dramaticism and the idea for a Bulgarian exit is widely
rejected, Gallup International Director Purvan Simeonov said
here Tuesday as he presented poll findings at a discussion on
whether Bulgaria is ready for the new security challenges.

The forum was organized by the Ivan Hadjiiski Social Institute
jointly with Gallup International on the 15th anniversary of
Bulgaria's accession to the Alliance.

Confidence in NATO is lower than that in the EU and NATO evokes
more polarized reactions due to some lingering pro-Russian
sentiments.

Simeonov said that the respondents in the poll were asked "the
provocative question" of whether they would approve Bulgaria's
exit from the Alliance. 45 per cent would not, 26 per cent would
 and the rest are undecided.

Approval for the Bulgarian Armed Forces has been on the rise in
the past few years, Simeonov said.

Elena Poptodorova, Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty
association and former Bulgarian Ambassador to the US, said that
 considering the complex international situation, she is
sceptical about Bulgaria's readiness to face the new security
challenges.

Poptodorova argued that rivalries among countries waste
resources and political efforts nearly as much as the terror
threat does.

The President of the Sofia Security Forum, Yordan Bozhilov,
commented that the attitude to NATO among Bulgarian people
evolved: from the perception of it as a hostile organization to
becoming a member, but unfortunately some of the old
understandings have lingered in people's minds.

He said that disinformation aimed against NATO has several
goals: to put to question the transatlantic bonds and the
loyalty of the member states to the Alliance, to set NATO and
the EU against each other, and to suggest that NATO is inferior
to its enemies technologically and militarily. RY/LN/