During his first visit to Bulgaria Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg assed highly this country as an ally of the alliance. Regional and energy security, the execution of NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, adopted at the September 2014 Summit in Wales, NATO’s support for Ukraine and its role in the Western Balkans, Afghanistan etc. – those were the main accents of the meeting.

Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Bulgaria for its contribution to NATO’s activities in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Black Sea, for the stabilization of the region and the support of the Western Balkans’ Euro-Atlantic integration.

“It is all very important, showing that Bulgaria is a very precious member of the Alliance,” Mr. Stoltenberg stated after his meeting with the head of state.

NATO’s Secretary General announced that measures had been taken for increasing the level of security within South-East Europe via more presence in the region and patrolling of more ships across the Black Sea with the only purpose of defense. 6 multinational elements for Commandment and management of NATO at East Europe are to be established with the goal of planning joint exercises, improving the coordination between the national command centers and the Alliance’s commanding structures. Mr. Stoltenberg went on to say:

The first visit of NATO’s new Secretary General to Bulgaria is a clear sign for the Alliance’s engagement to guarantee the security of the member-states, Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev said in his turn. He also thanked for the high assessment of this country as a reliable partner of the Alliance.

“Bulgaria relies on the support of NATO’s partners for rearmament and technological modernization of our military forces,” the president stated. “Obviously this country should reduce its dependence on a single arm supplier. The reaching of operative compatibility of the Bulgarian army with the other armies from NATO is a compulsory prerequisite for the effective completion of joint missions. This is a priority of the Bulgarian parliament, government and for the presidential institution,” the head of state pointed out. He said further that they had a common stance with Mr. Stoltenberg – the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are a threat to peace and stability. Mr. Plevneliev stated Bulgaria’s support in the fight against terrorism and the Islamic State.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev