President Andrzej Duda visits Bulgaria

Polish president Andrzej Duda has opened a series of foreign visits in connection with the upcoming July NATO summit in Warsaw. On Monday, Andrzej Duda met with the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rossen Plevneliev, and with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, in its capital - Sofia. Mainly, talks covered preparations for the NATO summit, Polish-Bulgarian military cooperation and common goals, and the crisis in Ukraine along with security in the Black Sea region. At a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart, Duda claimed that NATO must show that it is an “alliance of the living,” which adequately responds to all challenges. Both presidents agreed on the need to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO. Duda also placed emphasis on the importance of dialogue among NATO countries ahead of the Alliance's Warsaw summit in July. Meanwhile, Rossen Plevneliev called on Russia to give up what he called "aggressive actions." In turn, Andrzej Duda stressed it is also necessary to maintain dialogue with Russia, instead of implementing isolation policies. Next, Duda will travel to Portugal. Before the July NATO summit, the Polish president will also meet with the heads of state of Canada and Germany.