Minister of Defense Stefan Yanev expects Bulgaria to join a NATO drill with a battalion of up to 1,000 people. An opportunity has been created for the Bulgarian army to develop through joint military exercises. Diplomacy is not over, Yanev told BNT about the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. All efforts, including those by the military, are aimed at giving diplomacy a chance and at avoiding a possible conflict, the minister said.

Minister Yanev declined to comment on BNR's information that Bulgaria did not agree to deploy US troops in the country, but was ready to accept French military. If such talks were held, they would be at the military-technical level. At the political level, such a thing has not been discussed, the minister says.