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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin clashed with protesters in Bulgaria on Saturday when he met with Prime Minister Kirill Petkov to discuss the ongoing security crisis over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The demonstrators appeared to be protesting any military aid to Ukraine as they raised the Bulgarian and Russian flags when Austin and Petkov met at a joint press conference.
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Protesters gathered as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Slovakia and gave a press conference on Saturday, March 19, 2022 (Fox News)
Leading players in the 30-member NATO alliance, such as the US, UK, France, Canada and 17 other European countries, have provided military assistance to Ukraine and urged other allies to follow suit.
But Bulgaria on Saturday again refused to participate in the discussion of sending defensive weapons to Kyiv.
“I want to be clear that we have not discussed any military assistance to Ukraine,” he said, noting that reports to the contrary are “fake news.”
“We are working together to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO, but nothing else has been discussed,” he added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that in the face of Russian aggression in Europe, the alliance needs to reassess its grouping of forces and strengthen its defenses.
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IRPIN, UKRAINE – MARCH 08: Civilians continue to flee from Irpin due to ongoing Russian attacks in Irpin, Ukraine on March 8, 2022. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Stoltenberg said the move should curb any thoughts of Russian President Vladimir Putin about continuing the war outside of Ukraine, and reaffirmed that an attack on any NATO country would trigger an alliance-wide backlash.
Austin did not comment on Bulgaria’s refusal to send aid to Ukraine as it continues to be attacked by Russian forces, but instead hailed the resilience of Ukrainian forces.
“Russian aggression has inspired the Ukrainian people, NATO and the free world,” the defense minister said. “Their struggle is critical to the rules-based international order and to the shared values that Bulgaria and the United States share.”
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Bulgaria, which does not share a common border with Ukraine, has taken in thousands of refugees and has pledged to help Ukraine through humanitarian aid and medical assistance, Petkov said on Saturday.
Ukrainian soldiers watch a semi-conscious woman after crossing the Irpin River, fleeing a city on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022.
“But being so close to the conflict, I have to say right now that we will not be able to send military aid to Ukraine at the moment. It will be impossible,” he added.
Austin said the US and Bulgaria will continue to conduct military exercises and work to increase Bulgaria’s military readiness and strengthen “NATO interoperability.”