10.07.2024
Bulgaria’s key role for the Eastern Flank of NATO was the focus of the discussion of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev with US President Joe Biden. As the Prime Minister spoke to journalists today, he gave details of their discussion in Washington within the framework of marking the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Alliance. I reassured that Bulgaria is a reliable and loyal NATO ally and for his part, President Biden said that Bulgaria has a strong key role for the Eastern Flank of the Alliance, Mr. Glavchev said. He distinguished as recognition the fact that Bulgaria was nominally mentioned in the US President’s speech.
Further, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev emphasized the most global issue that was discussed by the leaders at the Washington Summit, viz., how to make NATO stronger on the basis of the collective element while the defense of each member state is strengthened. Another central issue is the support for Ukraine. Mr. Glavchev recalled that Bulgaria has been providing assistance to Kyiv ever since the outbreak of the war while the assistance of the Alliance is generally based on international law and United Nations documents.
We have met with President Zelenskyy at many forums recently in Germany, Switzerland, the latest European Council and here we will meet again. He knows that he can count on Bulgaria for support for Ukraine, the Prime Minister said. Mr. Glavchev emphasized that Bulgaria’s support for Kyiv conforms to the decisions of the National Assembly.
In Washington, Prime Minister Glavchev spoke, among others, with the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski. We unanimously agreed that speech should be toned down, Mr. Glavchev noted. In the view of Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, the relations between the two countries should be normalized and brought back to the mainstream of 2017 when the treaty of good neighborliness was signed.
Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was firm that the requirements for EU membership must be respected. The Bulgarian position is the shared European position: countries that aspire for EU membership shall comply with the requirements that are valid for all other members, he said further.
In the margins of the NATO Summit, Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev spoke with, as follows: Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor of Germany; Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye; and Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania.
