PM Netanyahu and PM Borissov
PM Netanyahu and PM BorissovHaim Zach (GPO)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.

During the meeting, Netanyahu welcomed Borissov and congratulated him on his birthday.

"Welcome to Israel again. I want to congratulate you first on your birthday, and also to welcome you and your delegation to Jerusalem," Netanyahu said.

"We have a wonderful friendship between Bulgaria and Israel. There is a human bridge of Bulgarian Jews who immigrated to Israel who have the warmest feelings towards Bulgaria, and they’ve contributed much to Israel.

"Our friendship goes back many, many years. We will never forget how the people of Bulgaria laid on the train tracks and prevented the deportation of Jews in Sofia.

"We appreciate your efforts against anti-Semitism, and our common battle against radical Islam and the terrorism it espouses that claimed a tragic cost of lives, Israelis and Bulgarians, on the soil of Bulgaria.

"We’re not only fighting the bad, we’re working for the good."

Netanyahu also noted the countries' cooperation on health, technology, and security.

"We have great cooperation in so many fields, among them health and technology, and many more," he said, emphasizing that the two would "discuss and advance" their cooperation after their joint press conference.

"I want to thank you for your consistent defense of Israel in international forums, including in the EU. It’s time that all of Europe’s leaders understood that Israel is the one that defends the interests, our common interests in the Middle East, both in terms of security and in many, many other ways.

"In that spirit of friendship, I welcome you, friend, to Jerusalem again.

"We’ve accomplished so much since we first met many years ago in Tel Aviv, and our personal friendship reflects the friendship between our peoples and our countries. So I want to thank you for that ongoing cooperation, including in the matters of security."

Earlier on Wednesday, Borissov emphasized that "Israel has the right to decide its capital city" but said the process "should happen alongside actions for peace."