site.btaFormer Defence, Foreign Ministers: Bulgaria Must Scrap Soviet Weapons

On the eve of the NATO Summit in Madrid on June 29 and 30, four former foreign ministers and six former defence ministers submitted an opinion calling on Bulgaria to modernize its army and finally give up Soviet-era weapons. The declaration was signed by Nadezhda Neynsky, Solomon Passy, Daniel Mitov, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Boyko Noev, Nikolay Svinarov, Anyu Angelov, Todor Tagarev, Velizar Shalamanov, and Nikolay Nenchev.

"Bulgaria is late in adapting its defence to modern challenges. The war in Ukraine proves once again that military construction, strategy, and tactics based on the experience of previous decades are ineffective. The physically and morally obsolete Soviet military equipment which continues to be the material backbone of the Bulgarian army cannot be maintained any longer. These weapons from the past demoralize the servicepersons, do not allow them to realize their human potential, and are often a threat to lives of personnel. These weapons are increasingly becoming an obstacle to Bulgaria's full integration into the Allied defence which reduces our ability to receive support when our security is threatened. By putting into practice the common spirit of European solidarity, Bulgaria should not miss opportunities to finance rearmament and participate in support programmes for Ukraine," the former ministers said.

"The risks to our security and defence are amplified by the vacillating and contradictory national position on the development of the forward presence of NATO forces in Eastern Europe, by the divergence of priorities in national and allied defence planning, by the limitation of consultations at home and with allies on key rearmament issues, forward presence and support to Ukraine," the position also said.

"Bulgarian national interests require a position of absolute solidarity with Ukraine, including by providing the necessary weapons and ammunition, a position of accelerated rearmament of the Bulgarian armed forces, of enhanced forward presence of NATO forces in Bulgaria, which would guarantee the security of the country during this critical situation."

The former ministers called on the Bulgarian political parties to realize their responsibility in guaranteeing their country's security. "They must guarantee that the ongoing political crisis will have no negative impact on defence." The ministers requested an adequately funded programme dedicated to the armed forces' rearmament and motivation.

Mediapool quoted the current Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov responding to the opinion by saying that "the position of hesitancy was a function of the past and not of the present. The lack of adequate modernization is also a function of the past." According to Zakov, this is the first time since Bulgaria joined NATO that the country has had a clear and firm position that remains consistent over the last three months of forward presence. "As a witness of most of the actions and lack thereof over the last 20 years in the area of defence and security, I do not accept some of the conclusions in this declaration, even though it does contain some useful elements," Zakov stated.