The group of 25 troops sent to help Border Police at the Macedonian border only has the right to monitor but not to detain, let alone shoot, according to Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

In a Thursday interview for the Bulgarian National Television he assured that the troops had no intention whatsoever of shooting, adding that they had been equipped with the lightest equipment possible.

Responding to criticism leveled against the measure, Mitov noted that the troops had been sent to the border to defend Bulgaria’s national interest and to guarantee the security of Bulgarian citizens, taking into account that the Interior Ministry had insufficient resources and was busy guarding the Turkish border.

He drew attention to the fact that refugees and economic migrants were two different groups of people, stressing that the latter had to be returned to their countries.

Mitov, as cited by dnevnik.bg, said that Bulgaria had signed agreements on the matter with a part of the countries of origin of the immigrant flow and called for urgent negotiations had to with the remaining ones.

Regarding the increased migratory pressure on Macedonia and Serbia, he called on the countries of southeastern Europe to intensify integration efforts in order to be able to cope with the common problems.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister also urged the Western Balkans to show that they can solve the current problems together amid mutual trust and to prove that this is not a region of instability.

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