NATO welcomes Bulgaria decision to take part in new Afghanistan mission

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday welcomed Bulgaria’s involvement in NATO’s new mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces during a meeting with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Sofia.
NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last December and replaced it with a non-combat mission of about 12,000 personnel.
According to a NATO press release, Stoltenberg welcomed Bulgaria’s continued commitment to the mission in Kosovo; and for enhancing NATO’s collective defence by conducting naval patrols in the Black Sea.
He and Plevneliev also discussed the importance of implementing NATO’s Readiness Plan, in light of challenges to the east and south of the Alliance.
“Implementing the plan is our highest priority,” Stoltenberg said, noting that it will “make our forces more ready and better able to respond to challenges from any direction”.