site.btaDefence Minister Zapryanov: Bulgaria Is Not Part of Conflict in Ukraine, Will Continue to Support "Victim"

Caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said on Thursday that "Bulgaria is in no way part" of the conflict in Ukraine but will continue to support the invaded country, which he referred to as "the victim". As part of the Bulgarian delegation at the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., he was speaking ahead of a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Heads of State and Government which will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zapryanov stressed that providing aid to Ukraine "poses no threat to our country whatsoever". The Defence Minister noted that the assistance Bulgaria provides to Kyiv "is much more symbolic" compared to the aid provided by other countries. "These countries provide Ukraine with tens of billions of euros" and "are not under threat", he added.

The Minister said that providing aid to the invaded country is in line with international law.

Bulgaria will participate in the new NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, he noted. With the new mission, which will be headquartered in the city of Wiesbaden, the Alliance will formally begin coordinating military assistance to Kyiv, a task that has so far been carried out by the Ukraine Defense Contact Group led by the US.

NATO will also send a special representative to Kyiv, who will coordinate political and practical support for Ukraine on the ground.

Zapryanov specified that this would be a political and not a military office.

"Ukraine will join NATO one day, when it meets the conditions," he added.