BULGARIA PUSHING TO RESOLVE IRAQ & SHARED BASES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 001675

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2015
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL BG IZ LY
SUBJECT: BULGARIA PUSHING TO RESOLVE IRAQ & SHARED BASES
FOR BUSH-PURVANOV MEETING

Classified By: Amb. John Beyrle for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Foreign Minister Kalfin told Amb. Beyrle
September 28 that Bulgaria intends to have selected a
follow-on mission in Iraq prior to the October 17
Bush-Purvanov meeting in Washington. He said that Bulgaria
wishes to focus on the draft Defense Cooperation Agreement
during next week's negotiations with Amb. Loftis in Sofia.
Kalfin also previewed President Purvanov's agenda for his
meeting with President Bush and updated us on his planned
meeting with Qadhafi's son next week in Paris to discuss the
Bulgarian medics. End Summary.

FOLLOW-ON MISSION IN IRAQ
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2. (C) Following up on the Iraq Contact Team visit to Sofia
last week, Kalfin reiterated Bulgaria's intention to remain
involved in Iraq, but noted, "it should be in a form that can
get political support," stressing "we cannot continue the
current type of mission." He recognizes the value to Iraq's
stability of having the Bulgarian contingent remain through
the October referendum and the December elections. He was
disappointed that the MOD did not ask more questions about
the mission at Camp Ashraf during talks last week, but
indicated that training Iraqi security forces headquarters
units is "a good option." Kalfin said that the GOB is also
considering other options, like medical and engineering
units, that were not part of the U.S. contact team's briefing.


3. (C) Kalfin explained that the Bulgarian interagency group
that participated in last week's discussions would send a
report to the Council of Ministers by September 30 with
recommended options. Reiterating a deadline that President
Purvanov had described earlier to the Ambassador, he said,
"We want to have a decision made" prior to the Bush-Purvanov
meeting. Kalfin said he would like to get political backing
for a follow-on mission from the Parliament through either a
resolution or a committee decision.

JOINT MILITARY FACILITIES
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4. (C) Kalfin told Ambassador that the MFA will take the lead
in next week's negotiations on joint military facilities, and
Lubomir Ivanov, Bulgaria's ambassador to NATO, will lead the
Bulgarian delegation. This is a change from the previous
negotiating session, which was led by former Deputy Minister
of Defense Ilko Dimitrov. Kalfin suggested that negotiations
focus on the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) instead of
the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). (Note: The MFA has
since agreed to focus on the SOFA as planned). Kalfin agreed
with Ambassador's suggestions to hold a joint Loftis-Ivanov
press conference in Sofia and have Ambassador Loftis brief
senior members of the Parliament's foreign affairs and
defense committees. Ambassador and Kalfin agreed that these
outreach efforts could help counteract misinformation that
has recently appeared in the Bulgarian press.

PURVANOV'S WHITE HOUSE VISIT
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5. (C) Kalfin said that Purvanov's agenda for his meeting
with President Bush will include: Iraq, joint military
facilities, trade and investment, the double taxation treaty,
the Bulgarian medics in Libya, and the visa waiver program.
Kalfin promised to coordinate in advance with Post on the
Bush-Purvanov agenda.

BULGARIAN MEDICS IN LIBYA
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6. (C) Kalfin thanked Ambassador for U.S. assistance and
stressed the strength of U.S. influence with Libya.
Ambassador assured Kalfin that the U.S. is ready to help push
any agreement with Libya, but stressed that Bulgaria and
Libya must work out the details in advance through bilateral
discussions. Ambassador informed Kalfin that Secretary of
State Rice would not be visiting Libya as had been
erroneously reported here. Kalfin said that he plans to meet
Qadhafi's son in Paris next week to "finalize communication
channels with Libya" and then make a proposal based, in part,
on USG recommendations. Minister Kalfin said that he would
keep Post fully informed.

COMMENT

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7. (C) Kalfin understands the importance of Bulgaria's
follow-on mission and the deadline for decision imposed by
the White House visit. His comments indicate a preference
for a training mission, even if it puts Bulgarian soldiers at
greater risk. We will continue to try and provide additional
information to the Bulgarians regarding follow-on missions as
requested.
BEYRLE