Bulgarian Foreign Minister on NATO: Nothing can Destroy an Alliance that is Based on Values

Bulgaria's place in NATO, the challenges facing the Alliance and the achievements of the military alliance are the main topics that ministers, presidents, military and ambassadors are discussing at an international conference in Sofia. The forum is organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Diplomatic Institute and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria.

NATO is the most successful defense alliance. Seventy years it managed to preserve the democratic values ​​of the Allies, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said at the opening of the conference. She welcomed the process of accepting the Republic of Northern Macedonia in the alliance and stressed that the expansion of the alliance should not stop.

Bulgaria's membership in NATO guarantees us security in an increasingly dynamic and insecure world. Challenges on the eastern and southern borders of the alliance and the EU have put Bulgaria in a new situation. Thanks to NATO, however, our country is reliably protected from any external interference, Deputy Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov said:
 
"Bulgaria will continue to participate actively in NATO's actions to enhance the security of the Alliance's southern and eastern flank. We will continue to work to implement the measures to build NATO's adapted front presence in the Black Sea, particularly in view of the military balance violation in the region. The next 10 years await us a great deal of work. Most of all, we have to compensate for what was not done entirely after 2004, namely the rearmament of the Bulgarian army with modern weapons and equipment. "

US Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin noted the progress in relations between Bulgaria and the United States in the field of security within NATO.

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