Sofia, December 22 (BTA) - Democratic Bulgaria (DB) will request a hearing by the parliamentary Defence Committee, when established, of the Minister of Defence in connection with his position on the possible deployment of additional NATO troops on Bulgarian territory, DB floor leader Hristo Ivanov (Right in photo) told journalists.

Defence Minister Stefan Yanev said in a Facebook post Tuesday that at this stage there is no reason to consider Russia's actions a direct threat for the Alliance and its security. "In this line of reasoning, I see nothing that justifies a decision for deployment of additional troops in our territory and deciding on deployment of additional NATO troops in Bulgaria would be unjustifiable. Such a decision would not match the allies' interests or the national interests of Bulgaria," Yanev said.

DB strongly insists on what is fixed in the coalition agreement preamble: Bulgaria is to develop its full participation in NATO not as a formality, but as an active affiliation, according to Ivanov. We believe that our country cannot afford to be in a state of undeclared but effective neutrality in favor of "the expansionist policy in the Kremlin region," he said.