Austin and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov held a joint press conference today in Bulgaria.
U.S. and Bulgarian forces are training together, and Bulgaria is also working on important defense modernization efforts as outlined in a bilateral 10-year roadmap for defense cooperation, the secretary said.
“Your commitment is a model for other allies to follow. Improving Bulgaria’s military readiness and NATO interoperability is even more vital today,” he said.
The secretary also thanked the prime minister for Bulgaria taking in more than 80,000 refugees as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.