The members of the Army of Macedonia who are part of the multinational forces of NATO in Bulgaria are up to the task, motivated, dedicated and extremely professional in achieving the only common goal - to be a guarantor for the security of every inch of allied territory, Minister Slavjanka Petrovska said after the visit of the army platoon that is part of the NATO forces in Bulgaria, as part of the increased vigilance activities of the Alliance, introduced at the extraordinary NATO Summit in Brussels in March 2022, after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The purpose of the mission is to guarantee the security of the entire territory of the Alliance.

At the base in Novo Selo, Minister Petrovska thanked the Macedonian, as well as the Bulgarian and all members of the allied armies who are part of the multinational NATO group in Bulgaria for their contribution to NATO security.

"It is my honor and pleasure that today together with my colleague we came here to visit the soldiers from this group, but also to pay special attention to our, Macedonian and Bulgarian soldiers. I am particularly pleased with the information from the briefing we had from the commander, from the successes that have been observed, from the way in which the two armies in this multinational force function together, work together and, of course, defend the interests of the NATO alliance together," said the minister. Petrovska.

The minister pointed out that all the political decisions that were made within the Alliance, in relation to the security of the NATO alliance, are being implemented by the soldiers today.

"I am even more pleased that all those political decisions that we made in the past period within the framework of the NATO alliance and as a guarantee for peace, the security of every inch of the territory of the member countries of the Alliance, the soldiers here are ready to implement it. Every single investment and investment in them means investing in our future and in our security, and therefore they deserve our support", underlined the minister.

The Bulgarian Minister of Defense, Tagarev pointed out that in Novo Selo with Minister Petrovska they witnessed the real application of the concept of increased alertness of NATO and the construction of multinational battle groups which are elements of the capacity for deterrence and defense of NATO's eastern flank.

"Here, seven countries contribute soldiers, the leading country is Italy with a very serious capacity, but every contribution of our ally to the protection of NATO and our territory is appreciated, including the military personnel from Macedonia. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to attend here together with Minister Petrovska. You saw military personnel from both sides in uniform, with the flags, with respect for each other," said the Bulgarian minister.

Minister Tagarev pointed out that soldiers from both contingents maintain daily contacts that build cooperation and the capacity to guarantee the security of the alliance together.

The Macedonian contingent in the multinational forces in Bulgaria is the size of a platoon. In these forces there are over 1.000 members from the allies Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Montenegro, Turkey and the United States, under the leadership of Italy.