US Not Asking Bulgaria to Aid Operation in Syria, Defense Min Says

The US government has not asked Bulgaria's authorities for any aid with respect to a potential military operation in civil war-torn Syria, Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov has revealed, referring to the visit of a Bulgarian delegation in Washington, DC, over the week.

According to Angelov, who spoke Saturday on the Bulgarian National Television, the administration of US President Barack Obama has not requested that Bulgaria's ISAF troops in Afghanistan stay after 2014, either.

Thus, Bulgaria's government is not going to add any more rangers to its 600-strong forces in Afghanistan, and its pullout will continue as planned, with Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov assuring Obama of Bulgaria's commitment to the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

After 2014, Bulgaria will keep 150 military staff in Afghanistan as part of NATO's advisor missions for the Afghan government, Angelov explained.

According to the Bulgarian Defense Minister, the only thing US President Obama asked for from the Bulgarian government delegation was information about who ordered, not who committed, the terrorist attack at Bulgaria's Burgas Airport on July 18, 2012, which killed 5 Israelis and 1 Bulgarian, also known as the Burgas Bus Bombing.

Bulgaria's Defense Minister revealed that Borisov and his delegation in DC asked the US for further aid for the modernization of the Bulgarian armed forces.

"We asked for US help for the improvement and training of the Bulgarian armed forces. We need this assistance, which is considerable," Gen. Angelov said.

He emphasized that the US government officials have assessed highly Bulgaria's role as a reliable US ally, and that President Obama praised the role of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan as well as the cooperation of the Bulgarian and US security services.

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