The United States has not exerted any pressure on Bulgaria with regard to the North Macedonia issue, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the United States Georgi Panayotov said hours after US President Joe Biden officially accepted his credentials. "There is still no official reaction to the decision of the Bulgarian National Assembly to give a green light to the so-called French Proposal, but one thing is certain- the USA and perhaps the entire world regard Bulgaria as a country that has made its concessions and is now waiting for similar concessions to be made by North Macedonia", Ambassador Panayotov pointed out in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television.
The issues regarding the delivery of the US F-16 fighter aircraft to Bulgaria, the participation of the United States in the diversification of gas supplies, partnership in the fight against corruption and the increase of US investments in Bulgaria, are on the common agenda.
Ambassador Georgi Panayotov contends that the war in Ukraine has not impacted the supply of American fighter jets to Bulgaria. He attributed the delayed manufacture of F-16 aircraft for Bulgaria to the coronavirus pandemic and the disrupted supply chains. Lockheed Martin’s new F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina, has several customers in the production line including Bulgaria, Taiwan, Slovakia and Qatar. “All four countries are waiting to receive the aircraft”, Ambassador Panayotov explained. The training of Bulgarian pilots in the USA continue as planned.
“Within a few days, the construction and assembly of the first Bulgarian F-16 fighter jet will begin at Lockheed Martin’s plant in Greenville. I am planning to visit the factory to see the aircraft. Then I will be able to provide more detailed information, but yes, we have news. We are talking about F-16 Block 70 aircraft which has enhanced navigation system and its lifespan is 50% longer than the older versions of F-16.”
The import of gas from the United States is an important part of the diversification of gas supplies for Bulgaria which helps this country reduce its dependence on Russian gas. In the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Bulgarian dependency on Russian gas was 95%.
“Currently, Bulgaria’s dependence on Russian gas is zero as it has received two shiploads of liquefied natural gas from the United States. However, gas can be imported not only from the United States, but also from other global producers such as Qatar”, Ambassador Panayotov noted.
Bulgaria’s modernization and prosperity require close cooperation with the United States, Ambassador Panayotov contends. He expressed hope that American investments in Bulgaria will increase:
“An American company has recently made a concrete investment proposal related to the extraction of valuable elements from lignite coal. No other company masters this technology. I hope that Bulgaria will be able to attract this investment.”
The United States are interested in seeing stability and predictability in Bulgaria, because we are their NATO ally. I think that we are also interested in seeing stability and predictability in our country, Ambassador Panayotov said for the BNT.
The Chief of Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria in the United States is a career diplomat with over 25 years of experience. Former Ambassador of Bulgaria to the UN in New York. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Bulgaria in Washington and Afghanistan. He was a Political Officer at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Tirana, Albania. Georgi Panayotov served as interim Minister of Defense in Bulgaria’s last caretaker cabinet headed by Stefan Yanev.
Ambassador Panayotov was born in 1968 in the coastal town of Pomorie. He graduated the Deutsche Schule (German Language School) in Burgas with a gold medal. Georgi Panayotov has a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He speaks English, Deutsch, Russian and Albanian.
Compiled by: Elena Karkalanova
English version: Kostadin Atanasov
Photos: Facebook /Georgi Panayotov, Lockheed Martin
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