Political reactions to ‘plans’ to strengthen NATO’s presence in Bulgaria

Bulgarian politicians continued to comment on reports on Thursday that NATO may ask Bulgaria to agree to an increased allied presence on its territory due to the concentration of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine.

President Rumen Radev said he expected the crisis in Ukraine to be resolved through dialogue and not with more weapons, and in Parliament, the smaller Vazrazhdane (Renaissance) party read a statement stressing that accepting NATO’s increased presence in Bulgaria would be “national betrayal”.

“I expect the crisis in Ukraine to be resolved through further dialogue and diplomatic means,” President Rumen Radev told reporters. “It should be clear that a consequent escalation of tensions [έπειτα από μια αμοιβαία στρατιωτική συγκέντρωση] will destabilize not only our region but the whole of Europe. “The crisis in Ukraine will not be resolved through the use or threat of violence, it will not be resolved through more weapons and more military force, but through dialogue and more diplomacy,” he said. from Bulgaria.

For his part, Defense Minister Stefan Janev said that “the decisions taken by NATO are decisions in which Bulgaria participates on an equal footing.” “The suggestion that someone is telling us what to do and that we should carry out someone’s order is fundamentally wrong,” he said.

Janev was asked to comment after writing in a Facebook post on December 21st that the deployment of additional NATO troops in Bulgaria would be unjustified because, in his opinion, at this stage there is no reason to consider such procedures on the part of of Russia as an immediate threat to the Alliance and its security and such a discussion could potentially lead to an unnecessary escalation of tensions in the region. A day later, Prime Minister Kirill Petkov stressed that “this issue has not been discussed either by the cabinet or by our partners. The statements on this issue were strictly the personal opinion of the Minister of Defense and did not express the official position of the government.” “.

Janev confirmed on Thursday that the Bulgarian government had not decided on the matter, noting that the situation did not justify comments and that there was no need to speculate on what could or could not happen.

He declined to comment on Petkov’s statement that no minister has the right to have his own opinion on issues concerning Bulgaria as a whole. “When the time comes to discuss this issue in the cabinet, the opinion will be consensual,” Janev said. He denied that he, the prime minister and the foreign minister were divided on the issue.

Nationalists vow to resist “National Betrayal”

“Vazrazhdane opposes the deployment of more NATO troops in Bulgaria and insists on the termination of the agreement on joint Bulgarian-US military installations on Bulgarian territory,” the nationalist party said in a statement read by MP Elena Govulce on Thursday.

Vazrazhdane claimed that “no one asked the Bulgarian people if they wanted to be a member of NATO or to have American troops on Bulgarian soil.” “Nobody asked us if we wanted to turn into a front against Russia or any other country,” Gudcheva added. “We realize that some Bulgarian politicians are dependent on foreign embassies, but history has shown that there is no forgiveness for betrayal. Bulgaria must preserve its sovereignty, and this can only be done by an independent and strong Bulgarian army. Those who are reluctant “They have to feed a foreign army, as is already the case,” Vazrazhdane said.

The party urged all Bulgarian politicians to protect their country’s sovereignty and not to turn into national traitors and expressed its determination to resist “the latest (time) series of national betrayals by any means possible”.

On December 21, the Bulgarian newspaper “24 Chassa” wrote, citing its sources, that the US was pressuring Bulgaria to accept a permanent corps of at least 5,000-5,500 American soldiers to be transported from Germany. The replacement of a reinforced US corps may bypass the three-month time limit for the deployment of US troops on Bulgarian soil. Alternatively, the military presence in Bulgaria and Romania could be increased through the enhanced presence of NATO battle groups.

Asked by the newspaper, Prime Minister Kirill Petkov said that “the troops have not been discussed in detail so far”. “I would also like to emphasize our strong belief that the best way to support EU and NATO policy on our eastern borders is through peaceful and diplomatic means,” he added a day later.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ