Jens Stoltenberg: We are following closely the Bulgarian investigation into the alleged Russian spy ring

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Twitter that he had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on March 22.

In the tweet, Jens Stoltenberg wrote: "I just spoke with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, a trusted ally. We discussed various issues on NATO's agenda, including our relations with Russia."

In Brussels, Jens Stoltenberg expressed support for Bulgaria and assured that the Alliance is closely folowing the investigation against an alleged Russian spy network in Bulgaria. He was speaking ahead of the two-day meeting of bloc’s foreign ministers, which begins tomorrow.

We are following closely the Bulgarian investigation into the alleged Russian spy ring. NATO is always very focused on the protection of classified documents and classified information, and we fully support the work of our ally Bulgaria to tackle Russia's malign activities on its territory.

“We will, at our Foreign Ministerial meeting starting tomorrow, also discuss our relationship with Russia, and we have seen a pattern of more assertive behaviour by Russia over the last years, including aggressive actions against nations, Ukraine of course, but also interference in our domestic political processes, undermining the trust in our democratic institutions or attempts to do so, and also interference in our election processes," Stoltenberg said.