2.5% is the necessary effort that our country must make in terms of defence spending, caretaker Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov said. Together with the Chief of Defense Adm.Emil Eftimov, the minister was present at the Mausoleum of Prince Alexander I of Battenberg for a military ritual on the occasion of 139th anniversary of the victory at Slivnitsa.

Minister Zapryanov said that given the risks and threats to NATO's military security, increasing spending for defence was a necessary step. Donald Trump, in his first term as US president, has a huge credit for NATO reaching the level of nearly 2% for defence, the caretaker minister added. Regarding Trump's promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, Zapryanov said that the war would not stop instantly and this would be a long process.