NATO, EU must cooperate with Russia,says Bulgarian DM

SOFIA, March 29. /TASS/. NATO and the EU must find ways of cooperating with Russia, confrontation will not bring favorable outcomes, Bulgarian Defense Minister Krasimir Karakachanov told TASS on Friday.

"There must be cooperation between NATO and Russia. But the 2014 events, the situation around Ukraine and Crimea - I don’t want to specify who’s right and who’s to blame, or to conduct a complex political analysis - have come in the way of this cooperation. However, I am confident even now that the issues must be resolved at the negotiations table, based on cooperation, because it is impossible to achieve positive results through confrontation," Karakachanov said.

"It is impossible to resolve the existing issues through arms race, demonstration of force and confrontation, in my opinion. No one would win this way. I am sure that it is necessary to find strong points and ways to resolve the issues peacefully, because third parties benefit from confrontation, namely, radical Islam," he added.

The Bulgarian defense minister stressed that negotiations are the best way to resolve the current issues. "I am saying this as a representative of Bulgaria - a state that does not have aggressive intentions and does not conduct an aggressive policy.".