Bulgaria ready to develop military-technical cooperation with Russia

Bulgaria is ready to develop military-technical cooperation with Russia, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Simeon Saxcoburggotski, who is staying in Russia on an official visit, stated at a meeting with journalists on Tuesday.

According to him, because of the limited possibilities of the national budget Bulgaria "logically began" with the modernisation of the Soviet MiG aircraft. Electronic equipment in line with the NATO standards will be supplied by Western firms while Russian specialists will engage in modernising the flight materiel, he noted. There are good prospects in military-technical cooperation but concrete decisions must be taken by the specialists of our countries' General Staffs, the Bulgarian Premier said.

Speaking about the problems of security in South-Eastern Europe, he noted that the Bulgarian policy makes for stabilisation of the situation in the region. The Premier also stressed that he prefers this region to be called South-Eastern Europe but not the Balkans, since the Balkans have a "negative shade" as a zone of conflicts.

The Premier once more noted Bulgaria's striving to enter the European Union and NATO. According to him, now the North-Atlantic alliance, especially after the September 11, 2001 developments in the USA and the recent meeting in Rome, has other dimensions, and "it is old-fashioned to present" it as an organisation hostile to Russia.