Bulgaria Can Participate in Ground Anti-Terror Operation in Syria

Bulgarian army troops could “theoretically” take part in ground operations against extremists in Syria, however the Bulgarian authorities have not received such a request, Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The defense minister added that the Syrian crisis cannot be solved without a ground operation.

“Speaking theoretically, our country could participate in a ground operation in Syria, but we have not been faced with this situation yet. At this stage, we have not received a request to take part in anything like that," Nenchev said, as broadcast by the Nova TV channel.

According to Nenchev, Bulgarian authorities may send an additional 1,000 army troops to aid police at the country’s borders in case the escalating crisis in Syria urges an increased amount of migrants to attempt crossing into Bulgaria.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011. The country’s government is fighting a number of opposition forces, as well as radical Islamist militant organizations, including the Nusra Front and Islamic State. The military conflict has caused over four million Syrians to flee their home country, according to UN estimates.

While a US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes on extremist positions in Syria since 2014 and Russia launched its aerial campaign against the militants in late September this year, none of the countries has officially deployed troops for ground operations in Syria since the conflict escalated.