Bulgarian President Rumen Radev - NATO is Extremely Important to Bulgaria

Stoltenberg: "The message of the new administration is that they, like NATO, also want dialogue with Russia but from a position of strength"

Румен Радев (ляво) на срещата със Столтенберг Source: BGNES

NATO is of extreme importance to Bulgaria and Sofia backs all defence and deterrence effort of the alliance, President Rumen Radev has said.

Radev has made the remark during a visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on the second day of his first foreign trip as head of state.

Meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he has asserted that Bulgaria will work toward boosting military expenditure to 2%, in line with NATO commitments.

Radev has also cited his US counterpart Donald Trump's view that international terrorism and the fight against Islamic State, in particular, generate the main threats.

Bulgaria's choice of the EU and NATO is strategic and should not be called into question. As for the sanctions against Russia, I do not see what is the practical use of them, as the losses are obvious. I fear that the new US administration will restore the dialogue with Russia and the EU will remain hostage to the sanction war, stated President Rumen Radev in an interview for Brussels-based portal EurActiv.com.