"The main task of the demining operation, which Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey will conduct jointly in the Black Sea, is to ensure safe shipping, but this is how we show Russia that it is not desirable to send its ships to the area of this operation," said today on Nova TV the Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev. He specified that the operation was supposed to remain a secret, but after it has already become known he can comment on it.

"As a reaction from Russia, I expect it to withdraw its ships, if it had intentions of sending its ships in the direction of our waters," the defense minister also said. At the end of September, Tagarev said that Russian ships were "prowling" around Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea and taking provocative force actions against merchant ships of other countries.

In response to a question, Tagarev clarified that the actions of the Russian Federation under the leadership of Vladimir Putin remain the most serious risk for Bulgaria's security.

The defense minister said that last week Ukraine asked all NATO countries, including Bulgaria, for more air defense systems. "Our options right now are limited. We do not have modern air defense systems and there is nothing to give them. If we have the opportunity, we could give some old systems, and we are not talking about the S-300, we are not considering them as an option," said Todor Tagarev.

He added that the aid from Bulgaria may be mainly ammunition, and not so much from those available in the army's warehouses, but those produced by the Bulgarian defense industry. "There is a new EC decision that clarifies the procedures and rules for investments in the expansion of the capacity for the production of ammunition and some other weapons products. The procedure has been opened, and companies have 8 weeks to submit documents. I believe that Bulgarian companies will be able to take advantage of this opportunity for additional European funding to be used as co-financing to expand the capacity of our economy," the Minister of Defense also said.

According to him, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has not shifted the focus from the risks that Russia's behavior creates. "I see a manifestation of large-scale terrorism, this is a hybrid attack in its purest form, because Hamas is an apparently democratically elected ruling force, but also a terrorist organization. The response to such attacks is very difficult," Todor Tagarev commented on the situation along the Gaza Strip.

The Minister of Defense clarified that there is no direct threat to Bulgaria. "The probability that migrant flows to Bulgaria will increase as a result of the conflict is extremely small. He added that there remains a risk that Hamas will try to take action against Israeli citizens on Bulgarian territory. "This was the reason for strengthening the security of key sites," Todor Tagarev said and added that there is no information about the preparation of such attacks.

Asked if he would resign, as a result of the appeals he had received from Boyko Borissov and Delyan Peevski, the minister announced that they had received distorted information and that was the reason for their request.

"It could always happen that I resign. I have a professional career, I can always return to my academic pursuits, but at this stage, I do not plan to do that," said Tagarev. Asked whether he would keep his post after the prime minister's rotation, planned for March, the defense minister announced that he would think and decide after seeing "how the cabinet will be configured after the rotation".

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!