February 10 (BTA) - "Bulgaria is part of the efforts to de-escalate tensions and de-conflict the crisis between Russia and Ukraine," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said, approached for comment by journalists here on Thursday.

The head of State noted that this crisis threatens security of Bulgaria and the region as well as of Europe as a whole. "This is crisis of global dimensions. The dialogue there is conducted at the highest level, between the US and Russia, NATO and Russia, the EU and Russia," Radev pointed out.

"We must all work for avoiding a military solution to this crisis. It cannot be resolved by military menas, a diplomatic solution can be sought, and all efforts are channelled towards this goal," the President argued.

"We should be clearly aware that neglecting the problems of the Armed Forces and our commitments as allies is the worst threat to national security," Radev said, asked about a meeting due on February 15, at which the Consultative Council on National Security is to consider national security risks and threats and the state of the Armed Forces. In the opinion of the President, who is also Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, "the State leadership's commitment to the development of the Armed Forces must be steady and focused rather than being limited to one-off acts of acquisition of new materiel and armament."

On Thursday, Radev familiarized himself with an analysis of the state and training of the Armed Forces in 2021, which was presented by the Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov.

"We proposed a more flexible and open concept for setting up a battalion-size battlegroup in Bulgaria," Eftimov said after the presentation. "On the basis of a mechanized battalion with dedicated combat support components, we enable the Allies to reinforce us with certain elements to address the deficiencies of our armed forces," the Chief of Defence explained.

"There are various options, and a broad range of countries willing to take part can be attracted. Our idea is to demonstrate quickly that Bulgaria and its armed force, jointly with the Allies, is able to show capabilities for building up a deterrent potential," the Admiral specified.

President Radev said, for his part, that the battalion-size battlegroup cannot solve the problems of Bulgaria's national security but it is important to set up because it implies interoperability with the Allies, an ability to form jointly the necessary capabilities and to address the deficiencies resulting from misguided or unadopted decisions in previous years on support for the development of the armed forces. "In this way, we can demonstrate together that we can respond to any crisis," the President said, replying to a question.

He reiterated that developing the Armed Forces and compatibility with the partners is the best guarantee of Bulgaria's national security.

Asked about the possibility of this country meeting the 2 per cent of GDP target for defence spending in 2024, Radev said that this matter will be on the agenda of the Consultative Council on National Security meeting.