Bulgarian Defense Min Snubs Russian Advice, Wants Missile Shield

Bulgarian Minister of Defense Anyu Angelov (R) at the sitting of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly in Varna Sunday. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria is located close to countries that might pose a ballistic threat to NATO members and thus supports the project of a missile shield, according to Bulgarian Minister of Defense Anyu Angelov.

Angelov spoke Sunday in Varna, where the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO is taking place over the weekend.

In his speech, the Bulgarian Defense Minister implicitly answered earlier caution issued at the summit by Russian NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin to the effect that hosting elements of the missile shield my make Bulgaria a target for terrorists and rogue states.

The Bulgarian Defense Minister stressed on the need of the projected NATO missile shield, and said the country is ready to house facilities for the shield.

At the same time Angelov underscored the great potential for the development and partnership between Russia and NATO, including in the field of missile defense.

In his speech, Angelov also touched on the need to develop a specific mechanism for activating Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which mandates that an attack against a member state be considered as a attack against all NATO members.

"We cannot let any NATO member veto Article 5 in case there is aggression against another member," stated the Bulgarian Minister of Defense.

In his address, Angelov presented the reforms carried out within the Bulgarian military, and underscored the role of the national parliaments in Northern-Atlantic cooperation.

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