Minister Daniel Mitov: The national security is a matter of national consensus and it should unite us, not divide us
24 June 2015 News
"Our national security is a matter of national consensus and it should unite us, not divide us and not use it for propaganda purposes," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Mitov after today's meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Minister was clear that in terms of the preparation of exercises on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria within NATO, once again there is hysteria about something that has been announced in advance. He explained that the plan was agreed at the NATO Wales Summit in 2014, when the Readiness Action Plan was adopted. The plan includes intensive exercises, adaptive measures and measures that guarantee the security of the NATO Member States. Minister Mitov added that over 70 exercises are planned - they have already started at the beginning of the year and are currently ongoing.
The Foreign Minister recalled that the deployment of military equipment in Bulgaria is within the framework of the Wales agreements and part of the security and defense cooperation with the United States. “The agreement with the US was signed in 2006 by the tripartite coalition government,” said Minister Mitov. "Since then, for the last nine years there have been such exercises and military equipment, as well as joint exercises with the Bulgarian Army", the Minister added.
Deputy Defence Minister Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev noted that stationing NATO troops is based on previously approved plans for the military servicemen, who will conduct exercises on the territory of Bulgaria. He said that according to a Constitutional Court decision, the presence of troops in Bulgaria from Nato member states did not count as foreign troops as covered by provisions of Bulgaria’s Constitution.