Bulgaria’s Defense Minister: The Defense of the Black Sea is a Strategic Priority for NATO

"The defense of the Black Sea is a strategic priority for NATO, and the importance and responsibilities of the Bulgarian Navy are growing every day", Defense Minister Todor Tagarev said today in his address to the cadets of the 2023 "Vasil Levski" class of the Higher Naval School (VVMU) in Varna. At an official ceremony, they received their first officer epaulettes.

"In the last decade, the Black Sea has become an area of serious energy projects, growing political and military tension", Tagarev pointed out. He recalled that as a result, in the last year and a half, the basin witnessed the first large-scale war in Europe in 78 years, as well as increasingly frequent provocations towards NATO member countries. "Due to the changed situation, the alliance in its strategic concept defined the protection of the Black Sea as a priority, because it is extremely important both for security and for the economy, transport and ecology of all member countries of the region", added Tagarev. In his words, all this increases the role of the Navy and requires both serious investments for their accelerated modernization and their close integration with the armed forces of other NATO member countries.