Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07SOFIA718
2007-06-14 08:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Sofia
Cable title:  

DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH FM KALFIN: IRAQI

Tags:  PREL MARR EFIN NATO LY IZ BU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 0935
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000718 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR EFIN NATO LY IZ BU
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH FM KALFIN: IRAQI
DEBT, MISSILE DEFENSE, NURSES IN LIBYA

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000718

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR EFIN NATO LY IZ BU
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH FM KALFIN: IRAQI
DEBT, MISSILE DEFENSE, NURSES IN LIBYA

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


1. (C) SUMMARY. Foreign Minister Kalfin thanked the Deputy
Secretary for President Bush's public and private assurances
of support for the release of the five Bulgarian nurses
imprisoned in Libya. He also asked for the opportunity to
consult with the USG in advance of any travel by the
Secretary to Libya. In response to the Deputy Secretary's
request that Bulgaria follow the Paris Club example on Iraqi
debt, Kalfin explained the domestic political pressure facing
the government on this issue. Bulgaria is considering two
options: following the Paris Club example or selling the
debt at a further discount on the commercial market. Kalfin
said Bulgaria would like to see missile defense "as a NATO
project covering all allies." END SUMMARY.

--------------
Nurses in Libya
--------------


2. (C) Kalfin said he appreciated the President's call
earlier in the day for release of the five Bulgarian nurses
imprisoned since 1999 and sentenced to death in Libya for
allegedly intentionally spreading the HIV virus. Noting that
EU Foreign Affair Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and German
Foreign Minister Steinmeier were in Tripoli to discuss the
issue and meet with the families of the AIDS victims, Kalfin
expressed very cautious optimism regarding the near-term
prospects for a solution. He welcomed the U.S. contribution
to the Benghazi International Fund, and asked if additional
money might be available from the U.S. Global AIDS Fund. He
contrasted the money for treatment of HIV/AIDS with the
families' demands for "blood money," saying that he opposed
additional payments from outside Libya to the families.
Qadhafi, Kalfin said, must see the current package of
assistance as the EU and the international community's final
offer.


3. (C) Kalfin noted without apparent rancor that British PM
Blair's meeting with Qadhafi would make it difficult for the
EU to continue denying high-level meetings to the Libyan

leader. Europe and the U.S. needed to keep pressure on Libya
to resolve the nurses' case. Kalfin said Qadhafi was
particularly interested in a possible visit by Secretary
Rice. He said he would very much appreciate the opportunity
to consult with the U.S. prior to any such visit, and would
be willing to come to Washington to do so. The Deputy
Secretary briefed Kalfin on his own recent meetings in
Tripoli, where he raised the fate of the nurses, and said we
would stay in close touch regarding senior-level engagement
with Libya.

--------------
Iraqi Debt
--------------


4. (C) The Deputy Secretary urged Bulgaria to follow the
Paris Club by forgiving at least 80 percent of Iraq's debt.
Kalfin said the GOB was in the final stage of technical
discussions with Iraq to fix the exact value of the debt,
estimated by Bulgaria at three billion dollars. Once
agreement was reached, Bulgaria had two options, according to
Kalfin. The first was to follow the Paris Club, allowing
Bulgaria to recover 20 percent of its debt over 23 years.
The second option being considered by Bulgaria is to sell the
debt on the commercial market. This would net Bulgaria
approximately 11-12 percent of the debt right away. Kalfin
said the GOB was currently performing due diligence with
regard to these offers. At least one of the companies
offering to buy the Iraqi debt from Bulgaria is a U.S. firm.


5. (C) Kalfin said the government would have a difficult time
selling debt forgiveness to the public, partly because of the
perception that Bulgaria had already done more than its fair
share to help Iraq, and partly because Bulgaria had itself
gotten no relief for the debt its rulers accumulated during
the Communist era. Kalfin said the decision to forgive the
debt would be much easier if the government could point to
major contracts or opportunities for Bulgarian businesses in
Iraq. In the past, Bulgaria provided a wide range of goods
and services to Iraq; it could win its share of fair and open
tenders if given the chance, but the tender process in
Baghdad was so opaque that it was difficult to compete.
Kalfin said that he had discussed this issue with Deputy
Secretary of Treasury Kimmit.

--------------
Missile Defense
--------------


6. (C) Echoing President Parvanov's public remarks earlier in
the day and his own previous statements, Kalfin said Bulgaria
would like to see missile defense "as a NATO project covering
all allies." While acknowledging that the system under
consideration in Poland and Hungary was aimed at defeating
long-range missiles, Kalfin argued that Bulgaria and other
allies on NATO's southern flank needed to be protected from
shorter-range missiles. EUR A/S Fried said the U.S. sees
NATO as a "conceptual umbrella" for missile defense and would
welcome greater engagement by Bulgaria within NATO on this
issue, either alone or with Romania and Turkey. "We are
trying to do as much as we can in NATO and it would be great
to have Bulgaria alongside us," Fried said.


7. (C) The Deputy Secretary pressed Kalfin to clarify the
Bulgarian position: was the GOB concerned about the U.S.
going forward on its own outside of NATO, or was it concerned
that the current system would not cover Bulgaria? Kalfin
responded that Russia was using missile defense and other
issues such as CFE to justify a more aggressive stance on a
variety of issues. It was also threatening to target
Bulgaria and Romania because they will host "U.S. bases" on
their territory. Bulgaria thus feels somewhat exposed, if
not militarily, then at least politically. The issue, Kalfin
insisted, is one of equal security for all allies.

--------------
Iraq and Afghanistan
--------------


8. (C) Kalfin and the Deputy Secretary also discussed briefly
the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Iraq, Kalfin said
that little progress had been made toward repatriating
members of the Mujahideen al-Khalq (MEK) currently under
guard by Bulgarian forces at Camp Ashraf. He said the Iraqis
sometimes blame the U.S. for lack of progress on this and
other issues, saying privately "we know better but the U.S.
won't let us." Kalfin noted that PM Malaki said the right
thing in Sharm al-Sheihk about controlling sectarian
militias, but implied that the Iraqi PM was not following up
his words with actions. The Deputy Secretary thanked Kalfin
for Bulgaria's decision to more than quadruple its forces in
NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan.


9. (U) Participants:

U.S.
The Deputy Secretary
EUR Assistant Secretary Fried
DCM Karagiannis
D Special Assistant Wittenstein
D Special Assistant Jost
Pol-Econ Counselor Freden

Bulgaria
FM Kalfin
Ambassador to the U.S. Elena Poptodorova
Deputy Foreign Minister Todor Churov
Presidential Foreign Policy Secretary Pavlina Popova
Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor Valentin Radomirski
Americas Director Valeri Yotov
U.S. and Canada Division Head Ivan Danchev


10. (U) This message has been cleared by the Deputy
Secretary's office.

Beyrle