President Plevneliev Rules Out Bulgaria Could Send Troops to Ukraine

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev (L) with Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski. Poland is among the countries where new NATO forces will be stationed to boster security in the light of the developments in Ukraine. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria will neither host NATO bases nor deploy soldiers and send weapons to Ukraine, President Rosen Plevneliev said while in Wales for the ongoing NATO summit.

He underscored that the Ukraine crisis cannot be solved by military means, but only through political dialogue.

Plevneliev made his comments with regard to NATO's plans to bolster its eastern flank after the incorporation of the Crimean peninsula into Russia and the fighting in Eastern Ukraine. More bases are expected to be set up in the Baltics, Poland and Romania.

"The balance in the Black Sea has been disturbed, he must have monitoring and intelligence tools there to feel calm," private national channel bTV quoted him as saying.

Plevneliev stressed hat Bulgaria would insist on stepping up defense in the Black Sea and intensified drills with the allies, with the Shabla and Novo selo military grounds suitable for joint exercises.

He added a "plan to defend Romania in Bulgaria, as a concrete document, has been written down as a commitment of the Alliance as well in case of an attack."

"Apart from political declarations, we also have plans how this might develop if such a situation emerges," the President explained.

Plevneliev also agreed with the term "historical" used lately to described the current NATO summit, since, in his words, it is to complete "planning for many years on and [this involves] not only the Ukraine crisis."

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