Defense Minister: Iran, Syria Pose Missile Threats to Bulgaria

Bulgarian Defense Minister Angelov hopes for an all-out NATO European missile shield, including Russia. Photo by BGNES

A major conventional threat to Bulgaria’s national security are missile attacks against strategic establishments on Bulgarian soil, according to Defense Minister Anyu Angelov.

Speaking about the development and adoption of a national security strategy, Bulgaria’s Defense Minister, who is a former head of the Center for Studying National Security and Defense at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, declared that there was a very low possibility that the country’s borders could be threatened by land forces.

“The analyses for the drafting of a national security strategy shows that there is a very little threat to our land borders but there is a possibility of a missile attack against strategic objects on located on our territory. There is a need to strengthen the missile defense not just of Bulgaria but of all NATO member states. The approach of the US government with respect to a missile defense in Europe must be used,” Gen. Angelov stated on Pro.bg TV Thursday.

He expressed his hopes that NATO will adopt the US missile defense in Europe project during its upcoming summit in Lisbon in November 2010.

“Our goal is to protect Bulgaria from medium-range missile attacks. We don’t necessarily need the stationing of elements of the US missile shield on our soil to achieve that. The location of these elements depends on the geography of the threat. Our air space is threatened by countries in the Middle East. The threat comes not just from Iran, for which it is known that it has these missile technologies; we also have information that Syria is developing them. All European countries, including Russia, must be covered by the missile shield,” the Defense Minister explained.

Angelov admitted that the huge problem of the Bulgarian armed forces was the aviation as the terms of service of the currently employed MiG 21, 27, and 29 planes are due to expire in the coming years.

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