Europe

Europe

Bulgaria satisfied with Turkish plan to host NATO missile defence radar: ministers

02 September 2011 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Bulgaria was satisfied with the Turkish government’s decision to host a NATO early warning radar as part of the military alliance’s missile defense system in Turkish territory, officials said here Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"As I have said repeatedly, our priority is that the whole of Bulgaria should be protected from possible missile attack," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said in a joint statement with the Defense Minister Anyu Angelov.

"We are satisfied that the decision to install a radar facility in Turkey is addressing this issue in practice," Mladenov said.

Defense Minister Angelov, meanwhile, said the deployment of the missile defense system in Turkey would increase the defense capabilities of NATO and would have a direct impact on safeguarding the national security of Bulgaria.

This system was and would be one of the main missions of NATO, Angelov said.

"It will provide adequate protection of the territories and people of the Alliance’s member states from ballistic missiles, in accordance with fundamental principles of equal and indivisible security and solidarity of the Alliance," Angelov said.

Bulgaria is one of the strongest supporters of the NATO missile shield.

"As a NATO member, our position is very clear: our only requirement is the missile shield to cover the whole territory of Bulgaria," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov told the plenary session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in May.