site.btaDefence Minister Expresses Hope to Have Regular Meetings with President Radev in Future

At a news briefing here on Wednesday, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said that his meeting with President Rumen Radev on Tuesday was something normal. He expressed the hope that they will have regular meetings in the future. "We are obliged to work institutionally together and at yesterday's meeting, which is not the first between me and the President, for nearly two hours we discussed the problems we have in the security sector, the army and the armed forces, as well as potential solutions," Tagarev commented.

According to Tagarev, there are many matters on which the President issues a decree on the proposal of the Council of Ministers, which are usually prepared by the Ministry of Defence and submitted by the Minister of Defence. As an example, Tagarev indicated the appointment of senior military positions, as the President cannot issue a decree without a proposal based on the decision of the Council of Ministers. The most normal thing is to meet and discuss the problems and seek agreement on how to solve them, Tagarev said, adding that the executive and the President have spelled out powers regarding security and defence.

"The Myrotvorets website was not a specific topic of conversation between Radev and me last week," Tagarev said in response to a question about his meeting with Ukraine's Defence Intelligence Chief Major General Kyrylo Budanov.

According to Tagarev, Myrotvorets is a non-governmental website - a group of citizens that expresses dissatisfaction with the way of behaviour and propaganda of another group of citizens, which in particular harms the interests of Ukraine and supports the Russian positions in this conflict. "This has communication implications, as do many of the actions of these journalists on the list," the minister said. According to him, the website does not pose a threat to the people on it.