Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister, Georg Georgiev, has denied reports suggesting that the country had expressed unofficial interest in joining the Trilateral Defense Cooperation Declaration between Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia, signed on March 18 in Tirana.
In a written response to Bulgarian MPs Zhipo Zhipov and Elisaveta Belobradova from the “Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” coalition, Georgiev clarified that public claims of Bulgarian interest are inaccurate.
He explained that the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry received an official copy of the declaration via a verbal note from the Albanian Embassy on March 25, but Bulgaria was neither formally invited nor consulted at any stage of the initiative.
The trilateral declaration aims to strengthen defense cooperation, address security challenges, combat hybrid threats, and organize joint military training. The move had drawn criticism from Serbia, whose President Aleksandar Vučić argued it violated a 1996 regional arms control agreement. However, officials from Kosovo, Albania, and Croatia have emphasized that the pact is not hostile toward any neighboring country.
In March, Albania’s Defense Minister Pirro Vengu stated that Bulgaria had shown interest in the initiative. Kosovo’s Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci echoed this in a recent interview with TRT Balkan, claiming that Bulgaria would be joining. But Georgiev’s statement firmly refuted these assertions.
Georgiev noted that Bulgaria maintains excellent relations with all three countries and currently has a military contingent deployed with NATO’s KFOR mission in Kosovo.
He also declined to comment on the bilateral defense agreement between Serbia and Hungary, signed on April 1, emphasizing that Bulgaria is not a party to that agreement.
