INTERIOR MINISTER PETKOV: BULGARIA HESITANT ON WMD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001135

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

OSD FOR DIRECTOR OF COUNTER-PROLIFERATION PROGRAMS HARLAN
STRAUSS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2016
TAGS: PREL MASS MNUC MARR BU
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER PETKOV: BULGARIA HESITANT ON WMD
AGREEMENT, WORRIED ABOUT EU

REF: SOFIA 1012

Classified By: DCM ALEX KARAGIANNIS, REASONS 1.4 (B) & (D)

(1) Summary: The Ambassador urged Minister of Interior Rumen
Petkov on August 10 that Bulgaria sign the Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD) Agreement. Petkov said that the GOB had
concerns that were raised in its 2004 proposal for WMD
cooperation and not addressed in our draft. Conceding that
the proposal was not changed after the signing of the Defense
Cooperation Agreement (DCA) he agreed to review it in light
of the DCA -- which also deals with privileges and immunities
-- and come back with a new proposal. He was very receptive
to the idea of Bulgaria hosting Black Sea table-top
exercises. On EU accession, Petkov expressed the
government's anxiety on the effect Bulgaria's "monitored"
post-accession status would have on public opinion. The
Ambassador encouraged him to put the EU decision in a
positive light. Petkov asked if the USG could promote
Bulgaria's "clean" accession with Commission President
Barroso, German Chancellor Merckel, and Enlargement
Commissioner Rehn. End Summary.

2) (U) The Ambassador congratulated Pektov on MOI's recent
achievements: shutting down a money-laundering operation in
Sunny Beach, dismissing twenty-two police officers for
corruption, and establishing closer ties with the
Prosecutor's office on financial crimes. He specifically
noted the embezzlement charges brought against the former CEO
of the Sofia Heating Utility, a case that was getting
positive coverage in western press. Petkov highlighted the
August 10 arrest of another civil servant, Vladimir Milev, a
former liquidator for the state holding company Consolid
Commerce accused of misappropriating five million leva (US$
3.3 mil) of company funds. He pointed to the three days it
took to complete the investigation as proof of closer
cooperation between the MOI and Prosecutor Velchev.
Ambassador Beyrle noted that such cases were sending positive
singals both inside and outside Bulgaria.

(3) (C) The Ambassador congratulated Petkov on the
detention of a truck carrying radioactive material at the
Rousse border (reftel) and brought the discussion to Harlan
Strauss, recent visit and the pending WMD agreement. He
pointed out that the agreement, pending for six years, has
been signed by all of Bulgaria's South-Central European
neighbors and that Bulgaria stood to gain valuable USG
training and equipment by signing. He noted that its
standardized language would eliminate the need for lengthy
negotiations, as with the Defense Cooperation Agreement
(DCA),and urged Petkov to coordinate with the MFA and the
MOD to make signing a priority.

4) (C) Petkov assured us that the political will to sign is
there, especially in the MOI, but that the MFA, the MOD, and
the Ministry of Finance had two major concerns. One was
financial ) specifically how much of the Bulgarian budget
would have to be set aside. The second was the agreement
itself -- as he said, it was two or three steps ahead of the
DCA regarding privileges and immunities. Sighting a similar
agreement the GOB presented to the USG in 2004, which was
left unanswered, Petkov said some of the Bulgarian concerns
raised by the draft are not answered in ours. The Ambassador
suggested the GOB reviews its proposal in light of the DCA,
amend it, and present it to us. Petkov agreed.

5) (C) Further on military cooperation, Petkov was very
receptive to the idea of Bulgaria hosting Black sea table-top
WMD exercises. He agreed with the Ambassador that the
exercise would strengthen Bulgaria's role in South Central
Europe and on the Black Sea. He promised to review our brief
on the Croatian exercise for the technical details, but
assured us that the MOI is completely behind the project.

6) (U) Petkov said the upcoming extradition treaty and MLAT
negotiations will be lead by the MOJ.

7) (C) On the subject of Bulgaria's EU accession and the
recent visit by Franco Frattini, the EU Commissioner for
Justice, Security and Freedom, Petkov was encouraged by
Frattini,s positive assessment of Bulgaria's progress but
reiterated his view that safe-guard clauses on accession
would be a mistake both for Bulgaria and the EU. This, along
with the different approach the EU allegedly takes with
Romania, were the two topics both the President and the Prime
Minister brought up to Frattini. According to Petkov,
accession terminology is important to the government -- if
the EU continues to "monitor" Bulgaria after January 1, the

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general public will believe that nothing has changed. To
Petkov, the expression "agreement of support for Bulgaria's
growth" would inspire more confidence. The Ambassador
reiterated the USG's support for 2007 accession and stressed
that accepting the EU decision without complaint would play
better with the public and Brussels than fighting over
terminology. He added that the Bulgarian public grasped that
"monitoring" had more to do with EU,s own expansion fatigue
than the progress of the government and would accept the
neutral term.

8) (C) The Ambassador reiterated our readiness to publicly
support Bulgaria's accession as a European success. He noted
our repeated statements to the EU that a delayed accession
means a weaker Bulgaria as member. Petkov took up our offer
of help and asked if the USG could voice its support to three
people specifically: Commission President Barroso, German
Chancellor Merckel, and Enlargement Commissioner Rehn. The
three were the most vocal about Bulgaria's need to do more to
fight corruption and crime after the release of the May
Commission report.
Beyrle