site.btaBulgaria's Position for NATO Summit Fully Consistent with National Interest, Government Says

"The position for the NATO Summit in Washington which the Council of Ministers approved is fully consistent with Bulgaria's national interest and reconfirms the consistent support for Ukraine at both the national and the Allied level. The position entirely reckons with the National Assembly resolutions," the Government Information Service said on Friday.

"The Bulgarian position has been elaborated in detail in the course of nearly a year by Bulgaria's Permanent Delegation to NATO, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"The document is classified, as is the case always with regard to positions of the Republic of Bulgaria on matters concerning foreign policy and current international issues, where irregular access to such documents would affect adversely the interests of the State. One of the reasons is that the document refers to a series of other intra-Alliance processes and Allied materials, including such assigned the highest level of security classification," the press release says.

"Even though it may not be made public, the document for the Washington Summit does not contain any stands other than those declared by Bulgaria so far:

"Bulgaria remains entirely committed to the strong and united response of NATO, the EU and the international democratic community to the brutal Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

"Bulgaria firmly backs Ukraine in its just cause to stand up for its right to freedom and independence and to its own choice of its own security guarantees.

"A peaceful outcome of the war cannot be at the expense of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia must observe international law.

"Russia's aggression against Ukraine constitutes a conflict between those two States, and NATO should not be directly involved in that war. Bulgaria favours reconfirming NATO's support for Kyiv by means of military technological assets and personnel training outside Ukrainian territory.

"Bulgaria supports the plans that have been developed at the insistence of the Eastern flank countries and the presence of NATO troops on the Eastern flank. This enhances the defence capabilities of the Alliance and additionally guarantees collective defence.

"Sending Bulgarian troops to Ukraine has not been considered so far, and there are no plans for any such consideration.

"Bulgaria is prepared to continue to provide military technological assistance to Ukraine. So far Bulgaria has provided a total of six packages of military technological assistance which is not gratuitous and is reimbursed from the European Peace Facility, international financial assistance, or other Allies.

"Within the context of marking the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Alliance, Bulgaria remains a loyal and reliable partners for the common security policy of the North Atlantic Treaty," the press release says.