U.S. Defence Secretary will visit Bulgaria

U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Bulgaria this week, the Pentagon said on March 14.

Spokesperson John Kirby said Austin will travel to Brussels tomorrow to participate in a meeting with his counterparts from other NATO members. He will then visit Slovakia. An arrival in Sofia has been added to his schedule today:

"Today the Secretary added a third stop to his plans - Bulgaria. The trip is being extended by one day to give him the opportunity to meet with Bulgaria's civilian and military leaders. This is a key stop in terms of the eastern flank of the Alliance."

Reuters news agency concludes its report from Washington on Lloyd Austin's upcoming visit to Bulgaria by noting that Bulgaria was Moscow’s closest ally during the Cold War, but is now a European Union and NATO member state that has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

source: BNR