NATO’s Secretary General, Mark Rutte, visited Bulgaria today (19 December 2024), where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Kondov, and the Minister of Defence, Atanas Zapryanov, and with personnel from the NATO Multinational Battle Group at the Novo Selo Range Army Base.
The Secretary General praised Bulgaria, for its defence spending and long-standing contributions to Euro-Atlantic security, including support to Ukraine. “Bulgaria plays a key role in our security, in the Black Sea and beyond; and it spends at least 2% of GDP on defence; what Bulgaria is doing is making Bulgaria stronger, but it is also making the whole of the Alliance stronger and safer; I call all Allies to step up and to spend more and to make sure that we also produce more in terms of defence industrial production,” the NATO Secretary General said. “Bulgaria is also helping Ukraine to defend against the Russian aggression, contributing to help Ukraine to be able, one day, to start talks on a peace deal from a position of strength, and that is what we need to achieve,” he added.
Mr. Rutte also underscored the important work carried out by the NATO Multinational Battle Group. “This multinational battlegroup in Novo Selo is exercising the ability to scale up to brigade size, supporting NATO security on the eastern flank, and sending a clear message that we are there to defend our nations together,” he pointed out.
Source: nato.int