US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a brief visit to this country at the invitation of Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov. She came to Bulgaria in the wake of the International Security Conference in Munich. In Sofia Mrs. Clinton met for talks with President Rosen Plevneliev and with PM Boyko Borissov. Unsurprisingly, the setup in Syria, and its region, Bulgaria-US cooperation in Afghanistan, exchange between the law enforcement bodies of the two countries and diversification of energy sources with an accent on the exploration and extraction of shale gas in this country, were central to bilateral talks. Emerging from her meetings the US secretary of state highlighted the progress made by Bulgaria in its recent democratic history and this country’s efficient leadership in the settlement of important international problems in Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Hillary Clinton said the American side was impressed with Bulgaria’s spectacular progress as well as with the strong partnership between the Bulgarian and American nations and administrations.
Hillary Clinton gave a positive signal for Bulgaria’s headway in combating organized crime ahead of the publication of the European Commission interim report on Bulgaria under the Verification and Cooperation Mechanism. She said that Bulgaria had made important steps in combating corruption, in justice reform and in promoting the rule of law, and this, according to her, will be of great help to the country as it works to consolidate its democratic institutions.
The US secretary of state rated highly the professionalism and valor of the Bulgarian military in NATO’s Afghanistan missions and voiced hopes that USA and Bulgaria would boost cooperation in defense.
However, the priority of Hillary Clinton’s visit to Sofia was America’s business interest in the exploration and extraction of shale gas in this country. Recently the Bulgarian parliament voted a moratorium on the project. Hillary Clinton was very diplomatic while wording her comments but made clear the issue remained open.
Bulgaria however was adamant in its position for safe exploration and extraction of shale gas that was confirmed in the words of PM Boyko Borissov.
“The Bulgarian nature, and preserving it in a condition good enough to serve the future generations is top priority. Only then we can talk of financial and economic benefits. For this particular reason we have agreed that the best specialists and the best and latest technologies should be brought to the attention of the Bulgarian people. Until then the moratorium is valid; it is a fact and a way to vouch that Bulgaria’s nature will be untainted”, PM Borissov said. He added that Bulgaria had opted for the same approach with the Belene NPP project. “We look pragmatically at every major project in Bulgaria: we take pains to protect the nature, to preserve the independence of the state, to check about alternative supplies and to have a viable forecast for the coming 10 to 15 years”, he said.
Regarding the setup in Syria, Hillary Clinton criticized sharply the veto imposed by Russia and China on the Syria resolution voted by the security forum in Munich. She thanked Bulgaria for being one of the 13 countries, which had voted in favor of the resolution. “We condemn the developments in Syria including the killing of civilians in the streets”, PM Boyko Borissov said as confirmation of the Bulgarian position. “We hope that this situation will come to an end as soon as possible.”
Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
