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

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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