BULGARIA’S PRESIDENT RADEV: TO US IN BULGARIA NATO REMAINS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ORGANISATION

To us in Bulgaria NATO remains a vital organization for the protection of the security of the Member States and ensuring stability beyond the borders of the alliance, Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev said on 31st of January at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the two spoke at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

President Radev: Strengthening NATO should be parallel with the dialogue with Russia.

NATO is an important partner for security and stability in Bulgaria and the region, President Radev said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. They both agree that possibilities for dialogue with Russia should be sought and confrontation should be avoided.

Radev said that the increase of the deterrence and defence potential of NATO ”should go hand in hand with deepening the political dialogue with Russia in order to avoid confrontation and misunderstandings, and lower the risks". He went on to quote President Donald Trump as saying that the main challenges and threats today come from international terrorism. "These are challenges that cannot be tackled unless NATO and Russia have common efforts in this, both in the Middle East and in the global fight against terrorism."

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said he spoke with the US President Donald Trump and the Minister of Defense James Matisse and their message was the same - United States would remain committed to NATO and the transatlantic alliance. ”And these are not just words, we see it in practice. The United States increased its presence in Europe. There is also strong support from the Congress, increasing of funds, “ Stoltenberg added.

The fact that as the Bulgarian president, in the first visit abroad, I included a visit at NATO headquarters, shows the importance of NATO for Bulgaria as an organization of shared values and shared responsibilities for the collective security and defense, Radev said.

We support NATO efforts for defense and deterrence and we think that Bulgaria is part of those efforts, the Bulgarian President noted. We will do everything necessary to ensure the joint contribution to the collective defense and security. For the past three years, NATO underwent serious adaptation. Bulgaria is part of it and this process will continue because the international situation at the moment requires it, President Radev said.

He assured the Secretary General that Bulgaria will make every effort to fulfill the decisions from Wales for reaching 2% of GDP on defense spending.