Military strategy

The Senate's chairman, Teodor Melescanu, pleaded, while attending on Friday the 4th edition of the Bucharest Security Conference, for increasing the defence and deterrence capacity in the Black Sea region. "The defence and deterrence policy, the capacity to adapt to the changes in the world represents a fantastic thing.

Sweden and Kuwait have presented a revised draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria that diplomats said could win backing from Russia.

The examples of Iraq and Libya have convinced the North Korean leadership that only nuclear deterrence can protect them, so no sanctions can dissuade them, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

Greek farmers may be preparing to stage a blockade on their country's border with Bulgaria, a Greece-based Bulgarian journalist says.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has described the Astana meetings on Syria as a "diplomatic success," expressing his hope that the process will continue in Geneva through talks for a political solution.

Greek farmers have given up on the blockade of the Greek-Bulgarian border on Tuesday, reported BNR, citing Yordan Arabadzhiev from the Union of International Carriers.

Bulgarian carriers have not received compensation yet for the closing of the borders last year and are ready to take counter measures if Greek farmers change their mind at the last minute, added Arabadzhiev.

Members of unions representing farmers in central Greece met on Wednesday to discuss plans for a fresh round of road blockades in protest at the government's taxation plans for their sector.

The aim of the meetings, sources said, was for farmers to prepare road blockades such as those set up this time last year at key road junctions.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski will hold on Monday a meeting with representatives of road hauliers who are planning to stage blockades at checkpoints along the border with Greece in response to the blockades organised by Greek farmers in February.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas will meet on Monday noon with the representatives of the farmers in an effort to de-escalate the tension occurred and persuade the farmers to put an end to their protest actions.

Bulgaria's Transport Minister on Saturday voiced his outrage at action of Greek farmers and their intermittent blockade of the common border.

The minister took part in negotiations with other Bulgarian and Greek officials and representatives of the protesting farmers. Talks, however, did not result in a decision to end the blockade.