Trust is the key word in the relationship between NATO and its partners, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov declared in an address to the Alliance's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

"The best way to achieve this is through all partners being involved in the decision-making process," Mladenov said, according to a statement published by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

Emphasising the need to develop all formats of partnership, the Foreign Minister said that one of the most important, and on which work must be done, is that with the European Union.

Mladenov confirmed Bulgaria's support for NATO's open doors policy, as well as expressing the hope that the next summit in 2014 would be dedicated to the expansion of NATO.

"Bilateral relations should not obstruct co-operation, especially when it is a matter of regions as important to us as the Mediterranean," he said, and welcomed the decision taken to unblock the uniform programme for co-operation with partners.

Earlier at the NATO-Russia Council meeting, Mladenov emphasized that success in addressing common security challenges requires the development and deepening of the partnership with Russia. He gave high praise to the program for co-operation in 2013 and he identified the priority areas in it – Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism and piracy, missile defence, among others.

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