Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met on Thursday with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
The two leaders met privately and then held an extended meeting with their entourages.
Netanyahu said at the conclusion of the meeting that he told his Bulgarian counterpart about Israel's activities in the efforts to fight Iranian terror worldwide.
“The most potent force of militant Islam is the Iranian regime. It’s devouring one nation after the other—in Syria, in Lebanon, in Iraq and elsewhere. And it’s killing civilians around the world,” Netanyahu said.
“We uncovered recently several Iranian attempts to launch terrorist attacks on the soil of Europe, and we stand together in this battle against terrorism and against militant Islam. This is not merely a battle for the future of our countries, but for the future of our common values and our common civilization, and by cooperating, we are stronger. We are stronger together,” he continued.
“We are part of the same civilization, a civilization that values liberty, peace and progress, and today this civilization is under attack, most notably by the forces of militant Islam. Militant Islam attacks all of us. It attacks Arabs. It attacks Europeans. It attacks Israelis. It attacks everyone,” the prime minister stressed.
“Our security cooperation is excellent. We’re discussing ways to further that, including in certain military activities, and even in military endeavors—manufacturing of weapons systems and other ideas that we are discussing together. This visit also enables us to further our cooperation in trade, in cyber, in health, in science, much more. I believe that there is much we can do together,” he added.
Netanyahu on Friday will become the first foreign leader to be the guest of honor at the summit of the Craiova Forum.
At the summit, the prime minister will hold meetings with the leaders of the member countries of the forum: Borisov, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă.
The Craiova Group was established in 2015 to promote a common agenda for developing and protecting the borders of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
Netanyahu’s remarks came one day after it was reported that the Mossad aided Denmark in foiling a recent assassination attempt by Iranian agents.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the reports and claimed that Israel was trying to incriminate his country.
Bulgaria was also targeted by terrorism in 2012, when five Israelis were murdered in a suicide bombing targeting a tourist bus outside the Burgas airport. Bulgarian authorities determined that Hezbollah, Iran’s terrorist proxy in Lebanon, was behind the attack.