Borissov: Nato Secretary-General Stoltenberg to visit Bulgaria
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is to visit Bulgaria on February 28 and March 1, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said.
Stoltenberg would be bringing a “huge delegation” with him, the Bulgarian Prime Minister said.
Borissov said that Bulgaria was a very loyal member of Nato and of the European Union, with a pragmatic policy “given where we are, beyond the Black Sea are Turkey and Russia”.
Noting that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was scheduled to visit Bulgaria on March 4 and 5, similarly bringing a large delegation, Borissov said that “neither can say that we receive one at the expense of the other”.
Bulgaria became a Nato member on March 29 2014, and this is holding various celebrations of the 15th anniversary of its membership, as well as of the 7oth anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty, by which Nato was founded, in April 1949.
The country is currently embarking on – with mixed results – a military modernisation programme involving the intended acquisition of fighter jets, naval patrol vessels and armoured infantry vehicles.