Bulgaria has no plans for further increases of the number of its troops in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Anyu Angelov has told his counterparts from the NATO member states in Brussels.

Angelov took part in the meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers on October 5-6, which focused on the situations in Afghanistan and Libya, where the Alliance recently extended its Operation United Protector against the forces of the regime of fugitive Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi on the grounds of protecting civilians.

The NATO Defense Ministers discussed the ways to boost the capabilities of the Afghan security forces, and the future transition of security responsibilities from the ISAF mission to the Afghan authorities, which is topic of "central importance" to NATO, the Bulgarian Defense Ministry announced.

In his address to the meeting, Bulgaria's Angelov reminded his colleagues that Bulgaria beefed up its contingent in Afghanistan by almost 20% over the past 2 years, bringing its total number of troops their to about 600, which is why it does not intend to increase further the number of its ISAF troops.

The Bulgarian rangers in Afghanistan currently guard the airports in Kabul and Kandahar.

During the NATO meeting, Gen. Angelov also had bilateral meetings with the Ministers of Defense of Afghanistan and Mongolia.

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