site.btaDefence Minister, Turkish Ambassador Discuss Bilateral Defence Relations

Defence Minister Todor Tagarev and Turkish Ambassador here Aylin Sekizkok on Monday discussed bilateral cooperation in the area of defence and the latest security agenda, the Defence Ministry said.

The two noted the traditionally good partnership between Bulgaria and Turkiye within NATO and regional formats and the important role of the countries along NATO eastern flank. The sides outlined prospects for advancement of bilateral dialogue within the context of the decisions and approved regional plans during last week’s NATO summit in Vilnius. Tagarev thanked for Turkiye’s contribution in NATO’s multinational battle group hosted by Bulgaria. He highlighted the preparations needed to upgrade the battle group to a brigade - an important step in the building of NATO’s deterrence and defence capacity alongside NATO’s Eastern flank.

Minister Tagarev and Ambassador Sekizkok discussed the changing security environment in the Black Sea region and rallied around the idea for the need of strengthened cooperation between Black Sea countries in order to adapt to challenges they are facing because of war in Ukraine. 
During the talks the sides discussed prospects for defence industry cooperation and the participation in joint exercises and training.