BULGARIA: VIEWS ON MARITIME SECURITY IN WAKE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000268

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED ADDRESSES)

DEPT FOR EUR (DAS BRYZA, NCE, RPM) AND PM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MARR MOPS TU BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: VIEWS ON MARITIME SECURITY IN WAKE OF
CINCUSNAVEUR VISIT

REF: SOFIA 224

SOFIA 00000268 001.4 OF 002


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


1. (C) SUMMARY: Admiral Harry Ulrich (Commander of US Naval
Forces Europe and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples) visited
Bulgaria 21-23 February 2007, meeting with President Georgi
Parvanov, Defense Minister Veselin Bliznakov, Deputy PM and
Minister for Foreign Affairs Ivaylo Kalfin, as well as the
military leadership in Sofia and Varna. ADM Ulrich expressed
gratitude for Bulgaria's military contributions to NATO and
the coalition in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Western Balkans
as well as for GOB and popular support for U.S facilities. He
made a strong case for cooperation on maritime security and
safety in the Black Sea, focusing primarily on unclassified
information sharing via networked Automatic Identification
System (AIS),coastal radar, and associated shipping
information as a way forward toward Bulgarian participation
in Operation Black Sea Harmony (OBSH). Although GOB
acquiescence to OBSH is still unlikely in the near term,
Bulgarian flexibility and willingness to move toward a
workable Black Sea security solution is evident. We should
leverage this positive momentum within the US, NATO, and the
EU without delay. END SUMMARY.

MEETING SUMMARY ) THE PITCH FOR COOPERATION
--------------


2. (C) During his meeting with Minister of Defense Bliznakov,
ADM Ulrich listened to Minister's Bliznakov's entreaty for a
"global approach" to maritime security in the Black Sea where
nations could participate on an "equal basis" and that would
evolve into a "NATO strategy" for the Black Sea. ADM Ulrich
described how Bulgaria could contribute to regional and
global maritime security through participation in a Maritime
Domain Awareness (MDA) network that is jointly run by NATO
Component Command Maritime Naples and U.S. Naval Forces
Europe. This network is called the Maritime Security and
Safety Information System (MSSIS). Using paper
representations of tactical displays, he showed Bliznakov,
Deputy Minister Sonya Yankulova and their staff what was
being provided by other countries on the Black Sea, in the
Mediterranean, and in Africa, and that these nations were
participating on an equal basis. He offered assistance at
negligible cost to network the information Bulgaria currently
possesses with this system into a filtering arrangement
designed to isolate suspicious merchant vessels. He used the
analogy of the world's air traffic control system to
illustrate the MDA vision. The presentation was
well-received and MoD's International Cooperation Directorate
requested follow-up meetings to discuss the details.


3. (C) During his meetings with the General Staff leadership
both at dinner on the 21st and in Chief of the General Staff
Zlatan Stoykov's office on the 22nd, ADM Ulrich laid the
groundwork for the maritime security discussion, but he saved
the most technical and persuasive discussion for the
political leadership.


4. (C) At a meeting with President Parvanov, with CHOD GEN
Stoykov and Navy Chief RADM Minko Kavaldzhiev present, ADM
Ulrich informed the President that he planned to discuss
Black Sea maritime security issues with the country's
military and civilian leadership and that they would back
brief him afterward. President Parvanov briefed the ADM on
his February 21 meetings in Belgrade with Serbian leadership
over Kosovo (reported separately).

A WAY FORWARD NOT A WAY OUT
--------------


5. (C) At lunch at the Chief of Mission residence on the
22nd, ADM Ulrich was able to expand his audience to include
the President's military advisors, retired GEN Nikola Kolev
and retired RADM Petar Stranchevski, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs Todor Churov, and the Chairman of the Defense
Council Mr. Angel Naidenov (MP BSP, and a navy veteran). GEN
Stoykov, his First Deputy Chief VADM Emil Lyutskanov, and
Navy Chief RADM Kavaldzhiev were also present at the lunch.
ADM Ulrich proposed expanding officer exchanges between
USNAVEUR and the Bulgarian Navy reciprocally, with US
officers training on the ship simulators in Varna (Bulgarian

SOFIA 00000268 002.5 OF 002


Naval Academy),and Bulgarian sailors riding US ships on
patrol in the NAVEUR area of responsibility. This option
proQdes a low-cost reciprocity opportunity which would
permit Bulgaria to accept the invitation without having to
ante up a Bulgarian ship ride in exchange which has been
impracticable for them to date.


6. (C) Well into the discussion, VADM Lyutskanov, the most
vocal opponent of Bulgaria's participation in OBSH to date,
stated that he thought the networked AIS approach was "a way
out" of the current log jam of Bulgarian non-participation in
a Turkish national operation (OBSH). AMB Beyrle made the
distinction that it was not "a way out" but "a way forward"
to greater cooperation in the Black Sea region, a practical
opportunity that could build confidence and eventually
include greater engagement on OBSH.

Note: The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a
shipboard broadcast system that acts like an aircraft
transponder, operating in the VHF maritime band, which is
capable of handling well over 4,500 reports per minute and
updates as often as every two seconds. More information on
this system can be found on the web at
www.navcen.uscg.gov/enav/ais/.

ENVIRONMENT MUST BE COOPERATIVE THEN MOVE TOWARD HARMONY
-------------- --------------


7. (C) In the end, VADM Lyutskanov was still skeptical.
However, RADM Kavaldzhiev, RADM (Ret) Stranchevski, and
Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs Churov were all bullish on
the idea of networking Bulgaria's unclassified information.
ADM Ulrich's brief meeting with Deputy PM and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Kalfin provided another opportunity to
express gratitude for Bulgaria's contributions as a net
producer of security, and highlight the need for greater
cooperation and coordination among the Black Sea NATO
members. Deputy Minister Churov had briefed the Minister
about the lunch discussion and will have the opportunity to
follow-up with a more detailed briefing later.

COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) Two things emerged clearly from ADM Ulrich's
discussions in Sofia: first, political and military
readiness to engage without delay on the substance and
technical modalities of getting Bulgaria plugged into the
MSSIS network; and second, strong reluctance to the idea of
taking part in OBSH by the Bulgarian Navy, as evidenced by
the strongly-stated views of the Vice CHOD VADM Lyutskanov.
The desired end-state is clear: creating an environment of
greater trust and cooperation between the Bulgarians and the
Turks such that they will freely share information and work
toward maritime security in the region, despite historical
prejudices and mistrust. ADM Ulrich's visit afforded an
opportunity to explore an alternative path to this end-state,
that of first encouraging greater information exchange among
Black Sea NATO nations in hopes that this will acclimatize
them to more substantive collaboration on regional maritime
security. As presented, participation in a MDA network that
reaches beyond the Black Sea (and the interagency,
interservice cooperation required to get it networked) is a
concrete step toward that goal, and we look forward to
working with USNAVEUR to get the process started. Beyond the
obvious advantages in broadening the info exchange, our
initiative on this (and the proposed reciprocal officer
exchange) will give us a stronger base as we work to blunt
the reflexive opposition to expanded maritime cooperation
with the Turks and Romanians through OBSH, which seems most
strongly manifested in the person of the Vice CHOD.


9. (U) Admiral Ulrich has cleared this message.


BEYRLE