"Bulgaria is in no way part" of the conflict in Ukraine, but will continue to help the attacked country, "the victim", said Acting Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov today, quoted by BTA.
He spoke to Bulgarian journalists in Washington, where he is participating in the NATO summit. Zapryanov is part of the Bulgarian delegation to the forum, led by Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitar Glavchev.
"There is no threat to our country from providing assistance" to Ukraine, Zapryanov stressed. The Defense Minister reminded that the assistance that Bulgaria provides to Kiev "is much more symbolic" than that provided by other countries. These countries provide tens of billions of euros to Ukraine, and are not "subject to threat", he stressed.
Zapryanov also recalled that the provision of aid to the country attacked by Russia is in accordance with international law.
Bulgaria will participate in the alliance's new NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) mission, he confirmed.
Through the new mission, which will be based in the city of Wiesbaden, in the central German state of Hesse, the pact will officially begin coordinating military assistance to Kiev - a task that has so far been carried out by the Contact Group for Ukraine, headed by the United States.
In addition, NATO will send its special representative to Kiev, who will coordinate political and practical support for Ukraine on the ground.
Zapryanov explicitly indicated that this will be political, not military position.
He was speaking ahead of today's high-level NATO-Ukraine Council meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine will one day join NATO when it meets the conditions, Zapryanov said.
Yesterday, the leaders of the alliance countries announced in the final declaration they adopted at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council - the highest political decision-making body in the organization - that the former Soviet republic's path to NATO membership is irreversible.