NEWS

The President: Allies Come up with a Common Stance on the Need to Increase NATO’s Presence in the Black Sea Region

Head of State Rosen Plevneliev Took Part in NATO summit in Warsaw

NATO member states demonstrated their common assessment of the risks and threats in the contemporary security environment and of the ways to overcome them. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said, summing up the results of the forum in Warsaw. Migration, terrorism, the threats and risks coming from the East, including the militarization of the Crimea Peninsula and disrupted balance in the Black Sea region were the focus of the Alliance’s summit in the Polish capital city.

The allies came up with a common stance that NATO should increase its presence in the Black Sea region. The Alliance is ready to protect each member state, the Head of State summed up in response to a journalist’s question.

By October 2016, NATO will draft a proposal to the member states of the Black Sea basin with regard to the Alliance’s forward presence in the region, President Plevneliev said. This proposal should address the member states’ concerns over the disrupted balance in the security environment after the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea.  “We are not talking of bilateral or trilateral initiatives, but of initiatives open to all member states under NATO’s auspices for joint training and military exercises and for the coordination of actions. By no means are we talking about any naval fleets whatsoever. There are no such fleets, nor will such be created,” President Rosen Plevneliev pointed out. The Head of State was adamant that any initiative to guarantee security and to improve the coordination of NATO’s member states in the region is possible only under the Alliance’s auspices and will be open for all allies to participate.

The President recalled that Bulgaria has already declared its readiness to take part with up to 400 servicemen in the multinational brigade in Romania in line with the principle of rotation for the conduct of military exercises and to improve the coordination between the Alliance’s partners. “This is not a bilateral initiative and does not suggest that there will be a permanent deployment of Bulgarian servicemen in Romania,” Rosen Plevneliev emphasized. In the President’s words, the multinational brigade in Romania will be set up following the same principle as the one applied when four multinational battalions in line with the principle of rotation were established in the Baltic States and in Poland. The leaders that took part in the Warsaw summit endorsed the decision for the deployment of military units comprising between 800 and 1,000 servicemen.

President Rosen Plevneliev defined as a serious achievement of Bulgaria’s foreign policy the decision for Montenegro’s accession to NATO. Bulgaria was among the first countries to ratify the accession protocol. “In a strategic perspective, the countries from the Western Balkans should join the Euro-Atlantic family. It is only the engine of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration that can contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the region, and Montenegro’s accession to NATO is a big step forward,” the Head of State said. “The Alliance’s resolve to continue pursuing the open doors policy provides the strongest guarantee for peace and stability in the Balkans,” the President said.

President Plevneliev highlighted the signing of the joint declaration for partnership between NATO and the EU as another big achievement of the Warsaw summit, as it places the relations between the two organizations at a new level. The EU and NATO are facing similar challenges and will increase their joint capacity and improve their coordination to cope with these challenges. The cooperation includes the early identification and analysis of hybrid threats, the improved exchange of intelligence and other information, as well as the increased partnership in the sphere of cyber-security. NATO is ready to ensure an additional contribution to cope with the challenges the EU is facing, related to the increased migratory pressure and to fight human smuggling channels.

NATO’s leaders singled out cyber-space as the new field of defense activities of the Alliance’s member states, just as land, maritime and air space are viewed. “Bulgaria should speed up the adoption of its strategy for cyber-defense, and increase the cyber-security of its institutions, and this should happen in coordination with the EU as a partner within the joint activities with NATO in the sphere of cyber-defense,” President Rosen Plevneliev pointed out, recalling the cyber-attacks targeted at the Bulgarian institutions during the elections and the national referendum held in October 2015.

NATO will enhance its support for the anti-terrorist coalition in the fight against Daesh, by ensuring air platform for radio-locational surveillance in support of the allied forces, President Rosen Plevneliev further said. The partners will also increase the exchange of information and strengthen their cooperation with the countries in the zones of conflict in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa.

Bulgaria will continue its participation in NATO’s “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2016 and after that. Our country is taking account of both the progress in the mission and the remaining challenges that the partners are faced with. “We will remain in Afghanistan in order to help the democratically-elected authorities and their security services there and help them learn how to overcome the challenges,” the Head of State said.

During the second day of the NATO summit it Warsaw, President Rosen Plevneliev made a statement before the leaders within the framework of the North Atlantic Council’s second session. The Alliance’s leaders also discussed the interaction with their partner states Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. The Comprehensive Assistance Package to Ukraine was also endorsed.

“We should remain united in our position that Bulgaria’s security will be guaranteed only within the framework of this strongest union of democratic states. Bulgaria is a proud member of this union and outside it our country has no guarantees for its security,” the Head of State further said in Warsaw.