Bulgaria Could Send up to 1000 Troops to Border if Migrant Wave Surges

Bulgaria could deploy up to 1000 troops at its borders to help police if a worsening crisis in Syria leads to increased migrant flow out of the war-torn country, Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said.

"Tensions in Syria escalate, which could increase the refugee flow, including to Bulgaria, but we are prepared for every contingency, we can boost the number of troops at the border within hours, if necessary,” Nenchev told Bulgarian broadcaster Nova TV on Saturday.

He also said that the crisis in Syria can’t be resolved without a ground operation.

“Theoretically speaking, it’s possible for our country to take part in a ground operation in Syria, but we are not faced with such a situation,” Nenchev said. “At this stage, we haven’t been asked to take part in something like this.”

Nenchev also said that Bulgaria is particularly concerned about rising tensions between Ankara and Moscow following Tuesday’s downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet.

“We believe in common sense. We believe that a peaceful political solution will be found,” he said.    

Nenchev also said that at the moment there was no imminent threat to Bulgaria’s national security.

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