Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stated that the Bulgarian army and border police are capable of guarding the country's borders on their own without the need for assistance from NATO.

Borisov said this after he attended the joint training of the navy and border police held in the bay of Burgas on Sunday.

The prime minister commended the participants in the joint training which was aimed at maintaining the country's readiness to react in the event of a heightened migrant pressures at its borders.

Borisov added that Bulgaria is doing exceptionally well in guarding its borders against illegal migrants.

Deputy Prime Minsiter Tomislav Donchev, Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev, Chief of Defence Lieutenant-General Konstantin Popov and Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov were also present at the training.

The Drazki frigate, a border police ship, a Panther helicopter and two navy cutters took part in the training, which demonstrated the combat and tactical preparation of the navy and border police to react in the event of a new migrant route emerging across the Black Sea.

The navy and border police coordinated their activities to neutralise and detain a fishing boat with refugees on board which had entered the country's territorial waters.

Borisov noted that the regional directorate of border police in Burgas is responsible for guarding 27 000 square kilometres of Bulgaria's sea border in the area where a new possible migrant route is likely to emerge.

The prime minister also revealed that Bulgaria is beginning the construction of two combat frigates, with the investment to amount to around BGN 800 M.

The frigates are Bulgarian prototypes developed by Bulgarian scientists and will be built in Bulgarian shipyards.

Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev added that around BGN 1.5 B will be allocated for the purchase of a new aircraft for the needs of the Bulgarian air force.