04.07.2024
I want to reassure Bulgarian citizens first and foremost that any deployment of Bulgarian troops in Ukraine is out of the question. Such an issue has not been discussed nor is it about to be discussed. The statement was made by Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev in Parliament where he presented to the MPs the Bulgarian position for the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington next week.
Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev recalled what the NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said when he visited Sofia in May: NATO is a defense alliance and a way has been found to help Ukraine without involving the entire Alliance in the war. The Prime Minister pointed out that with the seven decisions of Parliament Bulgaria provides a wide range of measures to support Kyiv – political and military, humanitarian and reconstructive while the country’s defense capabilities are not affected.
One of the most important decisions of the Summit will be the development of a stable and predictable instrument to coordinate the military assistance and the training of the Ukrainian armed forces outside the territory of Ukraine and thus to help the country in its defense against the Russian aggression and to enhance interoperability. This decision definitely does not implicate NATO and Bulgaria as a belligerent party in the war while it leads to viable support for Ukraine in its legitimate right to self-defense, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev reiterated.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Bulgaria’s commitment to the consolidation of our national defense within the framework of NATO’s collective defense. Speedier modernization of the armed forces, the land, naval and air force, continues to be the focus, the Prime Minister said further. Concerning defense investment, Dimitar Glavchev noted that this year Bulgaria will meet its commitment to increase defense spending to 2% of the Gross Domestic Product. In 2024, it is over 2% with the prospect of growing further in the coming years.
The allies will continue in their effort to further strengthen the deterrence and defense capabilities of the Eastern Flank and to promote technologies and defense industries. The Prime Minister said that Bulgaria supports NATO’s defense plans concerning the contribution of allied forces to the battlegroups on the territory of the allies from the Eastern Flank. This strengthens the defense capabilities of the Alliance and further ensures collective defense.
Other items on the Washington NATO Summit agenda are intended to strengthen the deterrence and defense potential of the Alliance and to promote NATO’s partnerships with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and with partners of the Global South.
