It is an honor for me to welcome the NATO Secretary General on the eve of the New Year. His visit comes as a tribute to the work of the servicemen of the battle group deployed in Bulgaria. This was said by the acting Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov.
Bulgarian defense is related to collective defense and contributes to collective defense. To do this, we must have modern armed forces, well-equipped with personnel, weapons and combat equipment, said Zapryanov.
We introduced the Secretary General to the current issues of our defense policy, what we are doing to modernize and prepare the armed forces to implement NATO's deterrence and defense plans. The battle group itself is a sign that everything that NATO plans is being implemented. NATO is ready to restrain in case of a threat and, if necessary, to defend its territory, the Minister of Defense pointed out.
I shared with the Secretary General that Bulgaria will spend about 2.5% of GDP on defense this year, but as he emphasized, we must increase our military spending if we want to have a strong army, the Bulgarian army filled with personnel and modern weapons. The increase in the salaries of military personnel from the beginning of next year is absolutely necessary and I appeal again to the Bulgarian Parliament to support the budget. We must not stop the modernization of the Bulgarian Army. This cannot happen if spending is not increased. Freedom and territorial integrity are not a given, they must be defended and that is why armed forces are needed. Therefore, within NATO, we must be organized and resist any aggressor, Atanas Zapryanov also said.