Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and once again became a platform for propaganda of the Alliance, this time focused towards the opposite shore of the Black Sea. Under the pretext of dealing with new challenges, which is actually the failure of the "Spring Revolution" in Ukraine, organized according to the model of the so-called revolutions in North African countries, a NATO Strategic Military Partner Conference was held in Sofia. The topic of discussions was "Common military interests - practically oriented and ready."

Simply put, delegations of NATO countries and NATO partners, including Ukraine, gathered in the Bulgarian capital city to hear the words of General Jean-Paul Palomeros, Supreme Commander of Allied Command Transformation. He said that the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation was extremely unacceptable and that is why increased NATO presence in areas close to Russia, including the Black Sea, was an expression of solidarity with the members and partners of the Alliance. General Palomeros answered positively taking a journalist's question whether the crisis in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea posed a threat to the security of NATO countries in Eastern Europe. However, It did not become clear how they were threatened, and who was threatening whom. The general responsible for transformations added that the Alliance was ready to respond always and in all situations in order to defend peace and its interests.

So, Jean-Paul Palomeros made it clear that after Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and North Africa, the time has come for the Black Sea region. He hinted that Bulgaria might play an important role in the matters, as according to him the Bulgarian armed forces have already achieved interoperability with NATO forces and impressive progress in their operational capabilities. If we add calls from some Bulgarian politicians like President Rosen Plevneliev for massive military presence of military in the U.S. bases in Bulgaria, it is clear that Sofia becomes gradually engaged in a certain scenario aimed at the destabilization of the Black Sea region, with a strong anti-Russian flavor.

Otherwise, the NATO summit in Sofia was another occasion for Bulgaria to demonstrate its famous hospitality. At the opening of the forum, the Chief of Defense Gen. Simeon Simeonov did not fail to point out that for Bulgaria it was a great honor to host the conference in which representatives of 53 countries and key leaders of the Alliance took part. He said that efforts must be joined to ensure peace and security. The Bulgarian Defense Minister also expressed full support for the multinational NATO initiatives, the smart defense concept, and the concept of a leading nation in the Alliance.

Several days ago a leading Sofia newspaper wrote: "In its zeal to please the United States, Bulgaria has become so tangled that whatever move it makes, it will be wrong. Doing nothing is the most reasonable thing and this country is good in it. Bulgaria will not be building the Belene NPP, nor the South Stream pipeline. It will not be doing foreign policy and the best thing is to put on a sign reading ‘Not available’ in order to solve all of its problems.”

English: Alexander Markov