CNO VISIT HIGHLIGHTS BULGARIA'S BLACK SEA POLICY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001573 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/RPM, PM E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MARR MOPS BU SUBJECT: CNO VISIT HIGHLIGHTS BULGARIA'S BLACK SEA POLICY REF: DAO SOFIA IIR 6 811 0020 07 Classified By: Ambassador John Beyrle, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The November 9-10 visit of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Mullen to Bulgaria shed light on the GOB's evolving Black Sea strategy -- particularly the General Staff's continuing wariness of Turkey's Black Sea Harmony (BSH) proposal. Their reluctance was echoed by MFA NATO and International Security Directorate chief Dr. Petio Petev during a November 14 meeting with the DCM. According to the MFA, Bulgaria has no plans to join BSH, and is in the process of articulating a comprehensive national Black Sea policy to be ready by December. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) During a November 9-10 visit to Bulgaria, CNO Mullen engaged the General Staff and Ministry of Defense leadership on U.S.-Bulgarian naval cooperation, joint bases, and Bulgaria's overseas deployments. Bulgarian officials highlighted their contributions to international security through overseas deployments in Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and UNIFIL. They placed particular emphasis on their 150-person contingent with ISAF in Afghanistan, which they hope to expand. MOD officials expressed strong support for planned U.S.-Bulgarian joint defense facilities under the Defense Cooperation Agreement. Defense Minister Bliznakov stressed that he was fighting for a larger defense budget and that he appreciated U.S. assistance in the form of IMET, FMF, and Coalition Solidarity Funds. ¶3. (C) In Varna, Navy Chief Kavaldzhiev welcomed the deployment of the Frigate Drazki, first in NATO Operation Active Endeavor (OAE) in the Mediterranean and currently on a deployment with UNIFIL from October through December. Kavaldzhiev pointed out that Bulgaria has contributed to OAE since 2003; this was preparation, he said, for participation by 2009 in the standing NATO Maritime Group. The Bulgarian naval chief also outlined at length and with apparent pride Bulgaria's participation in BLACKSEAFOR, the annual naval deployment by the six Black Sea littoral nations. Harmony on the Black Sea? -------------- ¶4. (C) On the issue of BSH, Kavaldzhiev was far less sanguine, alluding to "political differences" that would complicate Bulgaria's participation in the Turkish-led operation. Dr. Petio Petev, newly-appointed chief of the MFA's NATO and International Security Directorate, was even more categorical in his November 14 meeting with the DCM, saying "we do not think we should join" BSH. One of the main obstacles was practical -- the lack of a bilateral agreement with Turkey on exchange of classified information. Petev claimed that Bulgaria proposed such an agreement shortly after acceding to NATO, but had been rebuffed by Turkey. A more fundamental difference was Bulgarian discomfort with Turkey's attempt to "encapsulate" Black Sea security policy through a national operation. Russia's decision to join BSH earlier this month only increased Petev's impression that the two largest littoral states viewed BSH as an instrument to cement their influence over Black Sea security. Petev agreed that differences in theology should not obstruct practical cooperation -- he assured us that Bulgaria was ready to enhance its cooperation with BSH in order to counter trafficking and threats to regional security. ¶5. (C) According to Petev, Bulgaria is currently at work on a national Black Sea strategy that will advocate a larger role for NATO and the EU in regional security policy. He pointed out that in a matter of weeks, the Black Sea would become an EU border area, and as littoral states, "responsibility falls to Bulgaria and Romania" to guide EU policy in the region. ¶6. (S/NF) Recent DAO reporting indicates that Bulgaria has strong doubts about the bona fides of its Turkish neighbors when it comes to policing the Bosporus and the Black Sea (ref). According to the Bulgarian sources cited in this report, Turkey does not share information on suspicious vessels with Bulgaria if Turkish citizens are involved. Comment: -------------- ¶7. (C) Bulgaria has long advocated for a greater NATO role in Black Sea security, preferably by extending Operation Active Endeavor into the Black Sea. With no immediate prospect of SOFIA 00001573 002 OF 002 an OAE expansion, however, it seems the GOB may be hanging its future Black Sea ambitions on the EU. Sofia is clearly excited at the prospect of influencing a Black Sea policy in a forum free of what it sees as excessive Russian and Turkish influence. Though receptivity in Brussels is far from assured, the MFA's vision of Europe on the Black Sea is a small preview of the direction in which Bulgaria may try to pull the EU in years to come. END COMMENT. BEYRLE