Bulgarian defense minister rejects possible NATO deployment

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s defense minister says he cannot justify a deployment of NATO troops on his territory. Stefan Yanev commented in a Facebook post on the possible NATO response to Russia’s military build-up near Russia’s border with Ukraine. He says that “such a decision would not match the allies’ interests or the national interests of Bulgaria.” Yanev confirmed reports that various scenarios for a response to Russia’s actions are being considered by NATO, including the deployment of additional troops in Bulgaria and Romania under its “Enhanced Forward Presence” mission. But he added that “these are technical discussions and no decisions have been made.”