“Possible Expansion of International Battalions to Brigades in Bulgaria and Allied Countries – US Ambassador to NATO”

The possibility of the international battalions stationed in four allied countries, including Bulgaria, being expanded to brigades temporarily to be used in a crisis is being discussed.

This was stated by US Ambassador to NATO Julian Smith in an interview with BTA. She answered questions related to security on the eastern flank of the alliance and the upcoming summit of the pact in Vilnius in July, as well as the political situation in our country.

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The full text of the interview follows:

– NATO develops regional preparedness plans. In the case of Bulgaria, do you see a need for an increased presence of NATO in our country – in the number of military personnel and the amount of equipment?

– After Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in February last year, NATO adopted a joint decision to create four international battalions on the eastern flank, and one of them is in Bulgaria. I know our Italian friends are leading this battalion, but other countries are also contributing.

In my opinion, the point is not to change the essence of this battalion, but to be able to deploy it to a brigade if we are faced with some crisis or conflict. The countries of the alliance are examining the possibility of expanding these battalions to brigades, but not permanently and not with the simultaneous presence of brigades in each country, but so that we know that in an urgent need NATO will be able to respond.

That’s the goal now, we’re also working on the regional plans to make sure we can protect every inch of NATO territory.

– We recently learned about two incidents over the Black Sea with US and EU aircraft that were pressed by Russian fighter jets, Russian mines floating in the sea. Are these dangers likely to increase, in your opinion?

– We saw that after Russia failed to achieve its strategic goals on the battlefield in Ukraine, failed to capture Kiev, the tactics changed – we see strikes on civilian infrastructure – hospitals and schools, crossed all boundaries in the targets of the strikes. They tried to leave the Ukrainians in the dark and in the cold during the winter.

We see that the Russians, unable to achieve their military objectives, desperately resort to other tactics. I think they will continue this way. Our aspiration is to give the Ukrainians all the help they need to prevail on the battlefield. We have to make sure that the one who started the war – President Putin – ends it. He can do that tomorrow if he wants to.

– Bulgaria expects delivery of the ordered F-16 fighters in two years. Could the schedule be affected by the war and Kiev’s need for western fighters, and what do you recommend doing in the meantime, should work continue with the Soviet machines?

– I know about Bulgaria’s request for the F-16, we are following this issue closely. We understand that Bulgaria would obviously like to receive these fighters as soon as possible. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, we have faced surprising delays in the global supply chain, which has had implications for the timing in which we can deliver military equipment such as the F-16 and provide military assistance. I know the Pentagon is working on this to assess the possibility of moving forward with the timelines. We hope to progress as quickly as possible.

The US cannot yet supply F-16s to Ukraine. We know that other countries may take a different decision, they have the right to decide for themselves if they want to hand over F-16s to Ukraine. Our efforts are now focused on air defense, armored vehicles, artillery and ammunition. For the US and our Ukrainian friends, this is top of the list.

– What headlines should we expect from the upcoming NATO summit in July in Vilnius?

– It’s hard to say what the headlines will be from this meeting, but we will be announcing many new initiatives related to containment and defense on the eastern flank, as well as across the rest of the alliance. There will be an announcement related to the alliance’s 2014 decision on defense spending equal to two percent of the allies’ GDP.

I hope to welcome Sweden as the 32nd party to the pact. We will have new initiatives on cyber security and will be joined by Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan to talk about common security challenges. There will be many questions to discuss and many reasons for celebration.

Most importantly, we will reaffirm support for Ukraine so that Ukrainians and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who may join the meeting on the ground, know that NATO unity will continue and the alliance’s support as long as necessary.

– Are there any disturbances in the work with Bulgaria because of the political crisis in our country?

– We have full faith in the democratic process in Bulgaria. We will respect the right, determination and will of the Bulgarian people, we try not to interfere directly in internal politics. We will leave these issues in the hands of the Bulgarian citizens. In any case, we expect to work with a democratically elected government, and I assume that the wonderful relations we have here with Bulgaria will be maintained.

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