“The dream of Russian diplomacy is to show that NATO does not work.“ This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by Hristo Gadzhev, deputy chairman of the parliamentary Defense Committee and a GERB-SDF MP.
His comment came after the new drone attacks on two merchant ships in the Black Sea off the Bulgarian coast. The incidents occurred on the night of October 13, and one of the ships sank.
Gadzhev described the actions of the ruling party as belated. “What the government did yesterday, they should have done last Wednesday“, he told the national radio.
Call for a common position with NATO and the EU
According to the MP, Bulgaria should have requested a meeting of the permanent representatives of the North Atlantic Council, consultations in NATO and the European Union, as well as immediate coordination with Romania and Turkey.
According to him, the country should have stated clearly that it would not allow such attacks in its area of responsibility when they affect shipping and could affect prices for Bulgarian consumers.
“The question is how strong and clear a signal we want to send that we do not want such things to happen and will not tolerate them happening in the Bulgarian area of responsibility“, Gadzhev said.
He stressed that from GERB-SDF insist on consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on national security issues.
The government requested support from allies
Prime Minister Rumen Radev called an emergency meeting of the Security Council after the new attack on a merchant ship 18 nautical miles east of Byala. After the meeting, he spoke with Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova.
The Council of Ministers announced that Mitrofanova did not have information from the Russian Ministry of Defense related to the attacks. The Bulgarian government said it would discuss with Romania and Turkey common proposals for the safety of shipping in the Black Sea.
Radev also announced that Bulgaria has asked its NATO allies to strengthen surveillance and control systems, as well as additional capabilities to respond to drone attacks.
New air defense systems
Against the backdrop of the attacks, the parliamentary Defense Committee supported the acquisition of five more IRIS-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems for over 900 million euros. The project will be financed through the European SAFE instrument, and its implementation will require a program agreement between the defense ministries of Bulgaria and Germany and an addendum to the contract with the German company “Deal Defense“.
Gajev pointed out that the systems are intended for anti-missile and air defense against aircraft and missiles. According to him, the acquisition is part of a contract for which negotiations began in 2023 and ratification was completed in 2024.
The MP specified that the systems were not developed primarily to counter drones. He added that the goal of the SAFE program is for the acquired weapons to be delivered and put into operation by the beginning of 2030.
Sources: bnrnews.bg, nova.bg, apnews.com