1 00:00:00,140 --> 00:00:01,140 Mhm . 2 00:00:24,330 --> 00:00:27,160 It's coming allow me first of all to 3 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,530 thank Secretary of Defense of the US 4 00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:32,630 Lord Austin third because in this 5 00:00:32,630 --> 00:00:35,060 critical juncture at the moment , he 6 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:37,730 showed real to allied support to 7 00:00:37,730 --> 00:00:39,820 Bulgaria and to the Bulgarian 8 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:42,120 government , the world that Putin 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,890 started put all europe at risk . 10 00:00:44,900 --> 00:00:47,610 Unfortunately there is now not a single 11 00:00:47,610 --> 00:00:49,960 country that can live with the illusion 12 00:00:49,970 --> 00:00:52,490 that they are safe and secure . We 13 00:00:52,490 --> 00:00:54,546 should not forget that it is complex 14 00:00:54,546 --> 00:00:56,850 situation . Nobody can defend 15 00:00:56,850 --> 00:01:00,170 themselves alone and our security lies 16 00:01:00,170 --> 00:01:02,580 with the collective security with our 17 00:01:02,580 --> 00:01:05,050 allies . Within NATO we are NATO 18 00:01:06,740 --> 00:01:08,629 and my special thanks go to Lloyd 19 00:01:08,629 --> 00:01:11,080 Austin and the U . S . Because they 20 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:12,913 were the first to respond to our 21 00:01:12,913 --> 00:01:16,820 demands to our this what we asked NATO 22 00:01:16,820 --> 00:01:18,920 to reinforce and enhance the battle 23 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:20,976 group that we are a framework nation 24 00:01:20,976 --> 00:01:24,260 for and with the multinational elements . 25 00:01:24,260 --> 00:01:27,740 So the U . S . Have agreed to give us a 26 00:01:27,740 --> 00:01:31,480 striker company to contribute uh to our 27 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,480 battle group . And this is a strong 28 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,190 sign and uh I hope that the design is 29 00:01:36,190 --> 00:01:38,340 assigned to our signal to our NATO 30 00:01:38,340 --> 00:01:41,310 allies to also contribute to our troops 31 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:43,990 in this battle group will be under the 32 00:01:43,990 --> 00:01:46,790 security commander Commandment command . 33 00:01:46,790 --> 00:01:49,890 And we will um offer that the commander 34 00:01:49,890 --> 00:01:52,168 will be Bulgarian of this battle group . 35 00:01:52,168 --> 00:01:54,470 I'd like to claim that to say that the 36 00:01:54,470 --> 00:01:56,520 situation that we are in now after 37 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,576 putting has started uses has started 38 00:01:58,576 --> 00:02:00,298 this war is that the Bulgarian 39 00:02:00,298 --> 00:02:02,520 government has decided to reinforce our 40 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,540 defenses and the Bulgarian society can 41 00:02:05,550 --> 00:02:08,240 the public can lie can can rest assured 42 00:02:08,250 --> 00:02:10,880 that because we are allies . We as 43 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,102 allies will be reinforcing our defenses 44 00:02:13,102 --> 00:02:14,880 together . Other topics that we 45 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,730 discussed . Military mobility from the 46 00:02:17,730 --> 00:02:21,650 mediterranean sea , we can start 47 00:02:21,650 --> 00:02:24,440 and um connect Alexandroupolis Varner 48 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,930 Constanza with the road connection with 49 00:02:26,930 --> 00:02:29,110 the railroad connection with energy 50 00:02:29,110 --> 00:02:31,350 infrastructure . There will be a bridge 51 00:02:31,350 --> 00:02:33,294 over the Danube River . So the two 52 00:02:33,294 --> 00:02:35,294 governments will be working in that 53 00:02:35,294 --> 00:02:37,461 direction because logistics is just as 54 00:02:37,461 --> 00:02:39,840 important as military equipment that 55 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:41,951 will be sent over so that we can have 56 00:02:41,951 --> 00:02:43,840 really working defenses along the 57 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,180 certain flank . Fight against 58 00:02:46,180 --> 00:02:48,270 corruption , combating corruption is 59 00:02:48,270 --> 00:02:50,630 also a common task that we have because 60 00:02:50,630 --> 00:02:52,630 this is something that affects both 61 00:02:52,630 --> 00:02:54,741 national security and stability along 62 00:02:54,741 --> 00:02:57,050 the eastern flank . So this is another 63 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,607 no matter where we still have a lot of 64 00:02:59,607 --> 00:03:03,070 common joint work to do now to the 65 00:03:03,070 --> 00:03:05,126 Bulgarian audience , I would like to 66 00:03:05,126 --> 00:03:07,237 send the media , I'd like to say very 67 00:03:07,237 --> 00:03:09,403 clearly that we have not discussed any 68 00:03:09,403 --> 00:03:12,540 military military assistance to Ukraine . 69 00:03:12,540 --> 00:03:14,762 We have not discussed that at all . And 70 00:03:14,762 --> 00:03:17,380 all the fake news that we've seen , 71 00:03:17,380 --> 00:03:20,870 we've heard uh in the public 72 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,560 until now are I just can overthrow 73 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:26,510 that . This is not effect . We are 74 00:03:26,510 --> 00:03:29,620 working together to reinforce the 75 00:03:29,620 --> 00:03:31,620 eastern flank of NATO , but nothing 76 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:34,020 more than that has been discussed . So 77 00:03:34,020 --> 00:03:37,850 thank you . I'd like to thank again the 78 00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:40,810 Secretary of Defense for his visit and 79 00:03:40,810 --> 00:03:42,921 I would like to you have my word that 80 00:03:42,921 --> 00:03:45,088 we will be working together every step 81 00:03:45,088 --> 00:03:47,088 of the way because the US America's 82 00:03:47,088 --> 00:03:49,254 NATO and Bulgaria's NATO . Thank you . 83 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,984 Well , good morning everyone . And 84 00:03:54,984 --> 00:03:57,680 thanks for joining us . Prime Minister 85 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:01,140 Petkov and I just had a very productive 86 00:04:01,150 --> 00:04:04,020 discussion about Russia's 87 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:06,850 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine 88 00:04:08,140 --> 00:04:12,000 and NATO's strong and uniform on united 89 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,420 support and response . 90 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:20,100 We also discussed a range of important 91 00:04:20,100 --> 00:04:23,670 and bilateral defense issues and now 92 00:04:23,670 --> 00:04:25,614 it's important to me to be here in 93 00:04:25,614 --> 00:04:28,580 person at at this critical moment to 94 00:04:28,580 --> 00:04:31,430 condemn Russia's reckless and ruthless 95 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,107 aggression against a peaceful 96 00:04:33,107 --> 00:04:35,230 neighborhood . And to underscore our 97 00:04:35,230 --> 00:04:38,640 support for the Ukrainian people and to 98 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,220 once again make clear how seriously the 99 00:04:41,220 --> 00:04:42,930 United States takes its NATO 100 00:04:42,930 --> 00:04:46,180 obligations . Our commitment to Article 101 00:04:46,180 --> 00:04:50,070 five is Ironclad . Now Putin's war 102 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:53,900 of choice against Ukraine has 103 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:57,420 been tragic . Russia's invasion has 104 00:04:57,420 --> 00:04:59,364 taken a terrible toll on Ukrainian 105 00:04:59,364 --> 00:05:02,340 lives , including brave soldiers and 106 00:05:02,340 --> 00:05:05,980 far too many innocent civilians . Yet 107 00:05:05,980 --> 00:05:08,147 Russia's aggression has galvanized the 108 00:05:08,147 --> 00:05:12,130 Ukrainian people , NATO and the free 109 00:05:12,130 --> 00:05:15,940 world . In our conversation , the 110 00:05:15,940 --> 00:05:18,051 Prime Minister and I were both struck 111 00:05:18,051 --> 00:05:20,107 by the courage and the conviction of 112 00:05:20,107 --> 00:05:22,630 the Ukrainian people . They're fighting 113 00:05:22,630 --> 00:05:24,830 against huge odds to defend their 114 00:05:24,830 --> 00:05:28,060 country and their struggle 115 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:30,740 is crucial for the rules based 116 00:05:30,740 --> 00:05:33,980 international order and for the common 117 00:05:33,980 --> 00:05:36,050 values that Bulgaria and the United 118 00:05:36,050 --> 00:05:40,030 States share . Now we can see 119 00:05:40,030 --> 00:05:42,141 Bulgaria's commitment to those common 120 00:05:42,141 --> 00:05:45,120 values in the warm welcome that you've 121 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,450 given to so many thousands of Ukrainian 122 00:05:47,450 --> 00:05:51,330 refugees and we applaud everything that 123 00:05:51,330 --> 00:05:54,340 you're doing to deliver urgently needed 124 00:05:54,340 --> 00:05:56,800 humanitarian assistance to civilians 125 00:05:57,340 --> 00:05:59,560 whose lives have been upended by 126 00:06:00,140 --> 00:06:02,060 Russia's needless invasion ? 127 00:06:04,140 --> 00:06:05,918 I also wanted to underscore the 128 00:06:05,918 --> 00:06:08,600 importance of the announcement that 129 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,670 Bulgaria has established and is leading 130 00:06:11,670 --> 00:06:13,670 a NATO multinational battle group . 131 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,240 It's an important step and we fully 132 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,940 support it and we commend Bulgaria for 133 00:06:22,940 --> 00:06:26,620 its leadership . Mr Prime 134 00:06:26,620 --> 00:06:28,787 Minister , our defense partnership has 135 00:06:28,787 --> 00:06:31,020 never been so strong , so thanks for 136 00:06:31,020 --> 00:06:34,540 being a great partner . And that 137 00:06:34,550 --> 00:06:36,328 strength was brought home to me 138 00:06:36,328 --> 00:06:38,161 yesterday when I met with us and 139 00:06:38,161 --> 00:06:41,140 Bulgarian forces working and training 140 00:06:41,140 --> 00:06:42,196 closely together . 141 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,440 Bulgaria is also working on important 142 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,310 defense modernization efforts As 143 00:06:50,310 --> 00:06:53,070 outlined in our bilateral 10-year 144 00:06:53,070 --> 00:06:55,260 roadmap for defense cooperation 145 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,030 and your commitment is a model for 146 00:07:00,030 --> 00:07:01,460 other allies to follow , 147 00:07:03,340 --> 00:07:06,390 improving Bulgaria's military readiness 148 00:07:06,390 --> 00:07:10,030 and NATO interoperability is even more 149 00:07:10,030 --> 00:07:13,640 vital today as europe faces his 150 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,050 largest security challenge in 151 00:07:16,050 --> 00:07:19,280 generations . So the United States will 152 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,850 continue to stand strong with Bulgaria 153 00:07:22,540 --> 00:07:25,560 and our other NATO allies and we'll 154 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,671 continue to work together for lasting 155 00:07:27,671 --> 00:07:31,670 peace and security in europe . Mr . 156 00:07:31,670 --> 00:07:33,726 Prime Minister , thank you again for 157 00:07:33,726 --> 00:07:35,837 all that you're doing and for hosting 158 00:07:35,837 --> 00:07:38,960 us today . It's truly great to be here . 159 00:07:39,740 --> 00:07:41,962 And I look forward to entertaining some 160 00:07:41,962 --> 00:07:43,650 questions . Thanks 161 00:07:48,140 --> 00:07:51,960 superiority here you are 162 00:07:53,340 --> 00:07:56,150 from the Bulgarian national tv to um 163 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,710 Defense Secretary Austin , even though 164 00:07:58,710 --> 00:08:00,710 Prime Minister but has already been 165 00:08:00,710 --> 00:08:02,932 clear on this , I still want to ask you 166 00:08:02,932 --> 00:08:05,830 as well , have you discussed any 167 00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:07,582 assistance to be provided from 168 00:08:07,582 --> 00:08:10,960 vulgarity , Ukraine by say providing um 169 00:08:11,540 --> 00:08:14,050 small arms or heavy armament and 170 00:08:14,050 --> 00:08:16,770 equipment and munitions of soviet 171 00:08:16,770 --> 00:08:19,070 soviet make . What would you , how 172 00:08:19,070 --> 00:08:21,410 would you consider such a such an 173 00:08:21,410 --> 00:08:23,354 action on the part of europe ? And 174 00:08:23,354 --> 00:08:25,410 would you discuss it in the future ? 175 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,250 The Minister just said in that 176 00:08:32,140 --> 00:08:35,050 our our conversation was focused on 177 00:08:35,540 --> 00:08:39,520 what we can do to strengthen 178 00:08:40,410 --> 00:08:43,030 the eastern flank here and what we can 179 00:08:43,030 --> 00:08:45,750 do to increase interoperability . 180 00:08:46,340 --> 00:08:48,820 And we also talked about the things 181 00:08:48,820 --> 00:08:51,860 that our forces are doing together . 182 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:55,810 And certainly we remain grateful 183 00:08:55,810 --> 00:08:59,060 for for his leadership and and to the 184 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,380 uh to to Bulgaria for uh hosting 185 00:09:03,390 --> 00:09:06,860 a battle group here and moving out very 186 00:09:06,860 --> 00:09:09,082 smartly , very quickly to stand up that 187 00:09:09,082 --> 00:09:11,900 battle group Also . Many thanks for all 188 00:09:11,900 --> 00:09:14,170 the humanitarian efforts that you've 189 00:09:14,170 --> 00:09:17,250 provided and and for again taking care 190 00:09:17,250 --> 00:09:20,340 of the 80,000 plus refugees that have 191 00:09:20,340 --> 00:09:22,940 come through Bulgaria , that's greatly 192 00:09:22,940 --> 00:09:25,162 appreciated by the entire international 193 00:09:25,162 --> 00:09:26,162 community 194 00:09:31,210 --> 00:09:33,321 radio . You're staying with processes 195 00:09:33,321 --> 00:09:35,260 to them calm down . 196 00:09:39,990 --> 00:09:42,560 How do you see the role of Bulgaria ? 197 00:09:43,140 --> 00:09:45,340 Um what role can Bulgaria play into 198 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:47,580 strengthening the NATO blacks eastern 199 00:09:47,580 --> 00:09:49,469 flank ? Is there any threat ? The 200 00:09:49,469 --> 00:09:51,247 question is to both ministers , 201 00:09:56,340 --> 00:09:58,930 Like I said in my introduction , no 202 00:09:58,930 --> 00:10:02,320 country can feel 100% safe and secure . 203 00:10:02,330 --> 00:10:06,100 What we can do . We can feel 204 00:10:06,100 --> 00:10:08,020 that we are strengthening um 205 00:10:08,030 --> 00:10:10,141 reinforcing our security only when we 206 00:10:10,141 --> 00:10:12,086 stand together and we were working 207 00:10:12,086 --> 00:10:14,086 together , what we learned over the 208 00:10:14,086 --> 00:10:16,086 past three weeks is that only it is 209 00:10:16,086 --> 00:10:18,690 only when all allies within NATO are 210 00:10:18,690 --> 00:10:21,570 speaking in one voice and only when all 211 00:10:21,570 --> 00:10:23,580 of us within the european union are 212 00:10:23,580 --> 00:10:25,990 speaking in one voice ? The only then 213 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,360 is our security really reinforced , 214 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,660 increased and strengthened . And this 215 00:10:30,660 --> 00:10:32,882 will be true not only along the eastern 216 00:10:32,882 --> 00:10:34,993 front , but also with regard to Black 217 00:10:34,993 --> 00:10:37,490 Sea security . Thank you . Yes , I 218 00:10:37,490 --> 00:10:39,823 certainly agree with the Prime Minister . 219 00:10:39,823 --> 00:10:43,690 I would just add that . It's important 220 00:10:43,690 --> 00:10:45,857 that we have the right capabilities to 221 00:10:45,857 --> 00:10:48,910 be able to defend Bulgaria and to be 222 00:10:48,910 --> 00:10:51,790 able to add value to the to the overall 223 00:10:52,030 --> 00:10:54,960 NATO effort . But beyond that , it's 224 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,010 also important to be interoperable to 225 00:10:58,010 --> 00:11:00,950 be able to work together at a moment's 226 00:11:00,950 --> 00:11:04,240 notice . And you can't do that at the 227 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,510 last minute . In order to have true 228 00:11:07,510 --> 00:11:09,910 interoperability , you have to work 229 00:11:09,910 --> 00:11:12,860 together frequently almost daily to 230 00:11:12,860 --> 00:11:15,082 make sure that you can communicate that 231 00:11:15,082 --> 00:11:17,193 you understand each other's tactics , 232 00:11:17,193 --> 00:11:19,390 techniques , and procedures , that we 233 00:11:19,390 --> 00:11:22,220 have common logistics that can support 234 00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:24,442 the fight . And all of these things are 235 00:11:24,442 --> 00:11:26,760 things that we're working on now and 236 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:28,760 that will continue to work on going 237 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,871 forward . So it's a real pleasure for 238 00:11:30,871 --> 00:11:33,038 our troops to be here and to work with 239 00:11:33,038 --> 00:11:35,038 great partners . We have tremendous 240 00:11:35,038 --> 00:11:37,600 respect for uh for your military and 241 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,600 and for your leadership and for the 242 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,400 people of this country . This 243 00:11:44,140 --> 00:11:46,120 hi , I'm Felicia Schwartz from the 244 00:11:46,130 --> 00:11:48,550 financial times . Uh Secretary Austin , 245 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,670 uh Defense officials have said in 246 00:11:50,670 --> 00:11:52,559 recent days that the Russians are 247 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,190 looking to five with troops from 248 00:11:56,190 --> 00:11:58,670 outside of Ukraine ? Are you seeing any 249 00:11:58,670 --> 00:12:00,950 signs ? This has begun . And what does 250 00:12:00,950 --> 00:12:03,370 it mean if and when that does happen ? 251 00:12:03,380 --> 00:12:07,260 And mr are there any circumstances that 252 00:12:07,770 --> 00:12:10,840 would provide terrorists Ukraine ? What 253 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:14,300 are those circumstances with that to be 254 00:12:14,300 --> 00:12:15,300 a consideration ? 255 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,980 Well , thanks . We've not seen any 256 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,320 any evidence that they've made their 257 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,970 moving in large numbers of forces uh , 258 00:12:26,980 --> 00:12:30,700 recently , but i because of the 259 00:12:30,700 --> 00:12:33,420 fact that they they've stalled on a on 260 00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:36,980 a number of fronts there . Uh it makes 261 00:12:36,980 --> 00:12:40,970 sense that he would want to increase 262 00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:43,160 his capability going forward . We've 263 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,260 just not seen that yet . But again , 264 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,340 the most , the smartest thing that he 265 00:12:49,340 --> 00:12:51,580 could do right now is to make a 266 00:12:51,580 --> 00:12:55,290 decision to end this conflict . And you 267 00:12:55,290 --> 00:12:57,800 know , he's passed by a number of 268 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,590 opportunities to off ramp de escalate 269 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,711 and uh and try to settle this through 270 00:13:03,711 --> 00:13:07,460 negotiations and we call upon him to do 271 00:13:07,460 --> 00:13:07,760 so . 272 00:13:14,590 --> 00:13:16,610 You have a prostitute , Guardian 273 00:13:16,610 --> 00:13:20,300 vecchia . What I'd like to answer to 274 00:13:20,300 --> 00:13:22,522 your question that Bulgaria has already 275 00:13:22,522 --> 00:13:24,790 sent a lot of humanitarian aid 276 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,110 medications were working with the Red 277 00:13:27,110 --> 00:13:31,010 Cross and we are trying to help in to 278 00:13:31,010 --> 00:13:33,020 send humanitarian aid as quickly as 279 00:13:33,020 --> 00:13:34,910 possible to people in need . In 280 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:37,310 addition to that . And apart from that , 281 00:13:37,410 --> 00:13:40,370 even in during the talk that I had with 282 00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:42,690 MS President Zelensky , he thanked me 283 00:13:42,690 --> 00:13:45,090 personally for Bulgaria because 284 00:13:45,090 --> 00:13:48,350 Bulgaria opened its doors for Ukrainian 285 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,890 refugees . And what he said is he said 286 00:13:51,890 --> 00:13:55,510 my army is fighting is we are much 287 00:13:55,510 --> 00:13:59,390 more um rests . We are at peace when we 288 00:13:59,390 --> 00:14:01,446 are fighting . When we know that our 289 00:14:01,446 --> 00:14:03,334 women and Children are safe . And 290 00:14:03,334 --> 00:14:05,446 Bulgaria will continue to do anything 291 00:14:05,446 --> 00:14:08,020 in its power to assist Ukrainians in 292 00:14:08,020 --> 00:14:11,450 that huge conflict , in that 293 00:14:11,460 --> 00:14:15,210 and in that huge suffering due to the 294 00:14:15,210 --> 00:14:17,432 Russian aggression . But being so close 295 00:14:17,432 --> 00:14:19,654 to the conflict just right now , I have 296 00:14:19,654 --> 00:14:21,940 to say that currently we will not be 297 00:14:21,940 --> 00:14:24,260 able to send military assistance to 298 00:14:24,260 --> 00:14:26,427 Ukraine . This will not be possible as 299 00:14:26,427 --> 00:14:28,640 of now . But this type of military 300 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,550 assistance should should only happen 301 00:14:32,670 --> 00:14:36,190 potentially only if it is approved by 302 00:14:36,190 --> 00:14:38,412 the Bulgarian parliament . So currently 303 00:14:38,412 --> 00:14:40,670 we're only talking humanitarian aid 304 00:14:40,670 --> 00:14:44,050 here , open doors . We are embracing um 305 00:14:44,060 --> 00:14:46,900 the refugees from Ukraine . And what we 306 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:49,970 can do is to have enhanced presence 307 00:14:49,980 --> 00:14:52,330 along the eastern flank to follow a 308 00:14:52,330 --> 00:14:55,080 common united strategy with all our 309 00:14:55,090 --> 00:14:57,650 allies in NATO to speak in one voice . 310 00:14:57,650 --> 00:14:59,817 This is where Bulgaria could be at its 311 00:14:59,817 --> 00:15:03,600 strongest now . Mr President Mr 312 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,600 Prime Minister , I'm bob Burns from 313 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,600 Associated Press . The question for 314 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,378 each of you , if I may Mr Prime 315 00:15:09,378 --> 00:15:11,489 Minister , you said a couple of times 316 00:15:11,489 --> 00:15:13,656 today that now that Russia has invaded 317 00:15:13,656 --> 00:15:16,560 Ukraine , no country is safe and secure . 318 00:15:16,940 --> 00:15:19,170 My question is now that the war has 319 00:15:19,180 --> 00:15:22,020 gone on for more than three weeks . How 320 00:15:22,020 --> 00:15:24,230 do you assess the danger of the risk 321 00:15:24,230 --> 00:15:26,210 that um that President Putin will 322 00:15:26,210 --> 00:15:28,043 choose to to extend the war into 323 00:15:28,043 --> 00:15:30,860 Moldova or elsewhere in europe And and 324 00:15:30,860 --> 00:15:33,340 may I also ask a question of Secretary 325 00:15:33,340 --> 00:15:35,650 Austin at the same time , um Mr 326 00:15:35,650 --> 00:15:38,490 Secretary um you know , since the 327 00:15:38,490 --> 00:15:40,601 beginning of the war , it's it's been 328 00:15:40,601 --> 00:15:43,560 said that the Russian forces have 329 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,782 essentially been bogged down or to some 330 00:15:45,782 --> 00:15:47,949 extent stalled in the north , but that 331 00:15:47,949 --> 00:15:50,282 they've made more progress in the south . 332 00:15:50,310 --> 00:15:52,199 I'm wondering if more recently in 333 00:15:52,199 --> 00:15:54,310 recent days , you've seen indications 334 00:15:54,310 --> 00:15:56,480 that they've in fact um begun to lose 335 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,460 the momentum in the south and at the 336 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:01,349 same time , do you see them still 337 00:16:01,349 --> 00:16:04,460 aiming to take to try to take Odessa 338 00:16:05,140 --> 00:16:07,140 and if they did , what would be the 339 00:16:07,140 --> 00:16:09,362 strategic importance of them having the 340 00:16:09,362 --> 00:16:11,307 entire north Black sea coastline . 341 00:16:11,307 --> 00:16:12,307 Thank you . 342 00:16:19,340 --> 00:16:22,560 Yeah , thank you . Thank you for this 343 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,680 question Moldova to us 344 00:16:27,140 --> 00:16:29,610 would be a source of concern because 345 00:16:29,610 --> 00:16:31,832 Moldova is not a NATO country . It is a 346 00:16:31,832 --> 00:16:34,970 small country , Currently over 5% of 347 00:16:34,970 --> 00:16:37,350 their population is now 348 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,970 constitutes Ukrainian refugees . 349 00:16:41,740 --> 00:16:45,680 Their export trade is now severely 350 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,070 reduced due to the war in Ukraine , 351 00:16:48,070 --> 00:16:50,640 which prevents us from reaching their 352 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,480 clients customers and also they already 353 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,000 have Russian presence in some parts of 354 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,840 their country . Bulgaria was a very 355 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,640 strong voice at the table of the 356 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,400 european leaders and heads of 357 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,930 state and government where we defended 358 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,650 the statement that Moldova's way into 359 00:17:13,650 --> 00:17:15,610 the EU has to be mentioned in the 360 00:17:15,610 --> 00:17:18,290 declaration that we came up with and to 361 00:17:18,290 --> 00:17:20,401 me it was really important to support 362 00:17:20,401 --> 00:17:22,234 my colleague , my counterpart in 363 00:17:22,234 --> 00:17:24,420 Moldova who fights every day to keep 364 00:17:24,420 --> 00:17:26,670 stability in Moldova . So , yes , this 365 00:17:26,670 --> 00:17:28,726 is a source of concern . And what we 366 00:17:28,726 --> 00:17:30,726 have to do is we have to extend our 367 00:17:30,726 --> 00:17:32,870 hand to Moldova and china system that 368 00:17:32,870 --> 00:17:36,060 we also have a huge Bulgarian minority , 369 00:17:36,540 --> 00:17:38,540 a significant Bulgarian minority in 370 00:17:38,540 --> 00:17:40,860 Moldova . So this is a reason for our 371 00:17:40,860 --> 00:17:42,804 personal concern as well , because 372 00:17:42,804 --> 00:17:44,971 these are Bulgarians , our compatriots 373 00:17:44,971 --> 00:17:47,193 outside of our borders . And what we do 374 00:17:47,193 --> 00:17:49,860 hope is that their safety and security 375 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,240 will be protected by the democratic 376 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,720 government that is currently in a place 377 00:17:55,730 --> 00:17:57,674 in Moldova . So Russian aggression 378 00:17:57,674 --> 00:17:59,841 should not think that it would ever be 379 00:17:59,841 --> 00:18:01,952 possible to step over their borders . 380 00:18:03,540 --> 00:18:07,350 Thanks bob . In terms of their 381 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:09,304 Russians progress in the south , I 382 00:18:09,304 --> 00:18:11,360 would say that they they continue to 383 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:15,330 make incremental gains . I would 384 00:18:15,330 --> 00:18:18,550 also say that they've used some brutal 385 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,060 savage techniques in terms of 386 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:24,690 the way that they've been targeting 387 00:18:24,690 --> 00:18:28,460 civilian populations , centers and 388 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:30,840 and again , we would hope that they 389 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,062 would choose a different path . They've 390 00:18:33,062 --> 00:18:35,173 the amount of pain that the civilians 391 00:18:35,173 --> 00:18:38,240 have the door down there is it's just 392 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,140 been hard to to watch as they've 393 00:18:41,150 --> 00:18:43,680 continued to do that in terms of their 394 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,330 planning and whether or not they intend 395 00:18:47,330 --> 00:18:51,070 to make a move on that 396 00:18:51,070 --> 00:18:54,080 city or any other city in the south and 397 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,040 the near term . And I I can't speak to 398 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,040 Russian planning . I would just say 399 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,151 that we don't see indications of that 400 00:19:01,151 --> 00:19:02,060 right now . 401 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,630 That's it . Thank you . Let's have a 402 00:19:08,630 --> 00:19:11,260 hand , Okay .