Defence ministers of Bulgaria, UK discuss opportunities to jointly counter risks, threats

Bulgaria's caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov and his counterpart from the UK, Leo Docherty, discussed opportunities for jointly countering risks and threats, the current security agenda in the Black Sea region, priorities in Bulgaria's defence policy, as well as prospects for the development of bilateral defence cooperation, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

The meeting was attended by Bulgaria’s Deputy Defence Minister Radostin Iliev and outgoing British Ambassador to Bulgaria Rob Dixon.

In the light of NATO’s 75th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to the Alliance, the two sides discussed issues related to the future of the organisation and expectations from the upcoming NATO summit in Washington.

Zapryanov briefed Doherty on the Bulgarian Defence Ministry's priorities, the Bulgarian Army's modernisation projects and Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic objectives for developing collective defence capabilities. The ministers also discussed the actions taken to solve the shortage of personnel in the Bulgarian Armed Forces. Zapryanov focused on Bulgaria’s readiness to complete its Strategic Defence Policy Review, and to prepare a White Paper and legislative changes.

Doherty expressed the readiness of the British side to strengthen its defence cooperation with Bulgaria. He underlined the UK's particular concern about the war in Ukraine and its strong support for measures to strengthen deterrence and defence capabilities across NATO's Eastern flank, including in the Black Sea region.

The two sides also discussed the progress made in building capabilities in the fight against disinformation, cyber defence and countering hybrid threats.

Docherty also conferred with Bulgaria’s Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov. Their meeting discussed the military aspects of the bilateral relations, as well as the opportunities for enhancing cooperation between the Armed Forces of the two countries.