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Dendias from Sofia: Proud that Patriot and F-16 cover Bulgarian airspace

Greek Defense Minister Dendias expresses pride as Patriot missiles and F-16 fighters provide comprehensive air defense coverage for Bulgarian airspace during regional tensions.

Dendias from Sofia: Proud that Patriot and F-16 cover Bulgarian airspace
Politics
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Proud that a Patriot battery covers a significant part of Bulgarian airspace and a pair of Greek F-16s covers the entire Bulgarian airspace from any other threat, declared Defense Minister Nikos Dendias from the neighboring country during his visit today, Thursday (12/03), against the backdrop of developments in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the minister posted on X from Sofia, stating: “Greece’s immediate response to Bulgaria’s request strengthens regional security and stability. It also marks the deepening of our defense cooperation, both within the European Union and within the NATO framework.” In the same post, the minister noted that he was received by Bulgarian Prime Minister Andrey Gurov and they discussed security challenges in the broader region.

Read: Bulgaria: “Greek Patriots have been put into operation – We have full coverage,” declares Bulgarian Defense Minister

Nikos Dendias: Bulgaria is not simply a friendly country, but a neighboring country, a partner

In his statements during the meeting with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Nikos Dendias declared that “Bulgaria is not simply a friendly country, but a neighboring country, a partner.” “We have always,” he continued, “supported the Thessaloniki Agenda, Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union.” He clarified that “assistance to Bulgaria is our obligation, not a choice, and we are particularly happy to support Bulgaria.”

For his part, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, welcoming Mr. Dendias, emphasized that “we particularly appreciate the provision of military assistance during this crisis period,” while clarifying that “we consider Greece one of our closest allies as a neighboring country.” Indeed, he explained that “the possibilities for cooperation between Greece and Bulgaria extend beyond security and include transport, regional cooperation, energy sector cooperation and several other areas of mutual interest.”

Dendias and Zapryanov meeting: Greece believes in the European dimension of our relations with Bulgaria

It should be noted that Mr. Dendias subsequently met with his counterpart Atanas Zapryanov, and in their joint press statements, the Defense Minister reiterated that Greece “believes in the European dimension of our relations with Bulgaria,” while expressing his joy for the cooperation in the defense sector.

“We believe we had an obligation to respond to Bulgaria’s request to help address the threats that Bulgaria faces due to the war in Iran. And I am very proud and happy that a PATRIOT battery PATRIOT covers a significant part of Bulgarian airspace from missile threats and a pair of Greek F-16s covers the entire Bulgarian airspace from any other threat, including drones,” analyzed Nikos Dendias and added that two senior officers have been sent “to coordinate with the Bulgarian Armed Forces Operations Center.”

“Today, we discussed many interesting things beyond the current crisis,” emphasized Mr. Dendias and focused on the issue of expanding the pipeline network and creating a recognized military corridor. “We agreed to do everything we can together to coordinate our efforts with our Romanian colleagues, so that whatever needs to be done can be completed as quickly as possible,” he noted.

‘Reform is needed in view of SAFE II’

Furthermore, Mr. Dendias said: “We also discussed the issue of defense innovation and the SAFE regulation” and expressed the assessment that the SAFE regulation “needs reform in view of SAFE II.” “In Greece, we are implementing ‘Agenda 2030,’ a comprehensive reform of the Greek Armed Forces, in a holistic approach we call ‘Achilles’ Shield.’ Part of this holistic approach is the anti-drone system ‘Centaur’ that we are already using. It is currently in the Red Sea and off Cyprus. However, we are generally interested in cooperation with the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem, within the framework of this reform,” added Mr. Dendias.

“We are two countries that are not ‘large countries,’ therefore communication between defense innovation ecosystems I think has something to offer both Greece and Bulgaria, as well as Europe,” concluded the Defense Minister.

For his part, his Bulgarian counterpart emphasized, among other things: “We utilized this visit as NATO member states and as good neighbors to discuss challenges to world security, because it concerns us too.” “We noted our common concern about Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which continues to destabilize Europe,” he said and added: “Within the framework of NATO, the European Union, and our bilateral relations, we support Ukraine in defending its independence and against the neighboring threats it faces.”

He also expressed gratitude to the Greek government and the Greek minister personally “for immediately responding to our call for support of Bulgarian National Defense and Bulgarian airspace with the deployment of a PATRIOT battery.”

Regarding military mobility, he mentioned: “You know the EU initiative to enhance interconnectivity, which on one hand concerns economic interconnection and on the other concerns military movement of military equipment, and in this area we have a project with Greece. And we noted the common understanding that despite the fact that Transport Ministries have the specific role in this area, we as Defense Ministries should also participate and contribute to the development of projects and their documentation before the EU.” “We also discussed the EU’s SAFE mechanism and found that there is a large field of cooperation with joint projects also for expanding our cooperation in this area. And also regarding defense innovation,” concluded the Bulgarian Defense Minister.


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