BULGARIAN MFA TRANSMITS REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF MEDICS TO

UNCLAS SOFIA 000867 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/NCE MNORDBERG REF: A) Sofia 861, B) Sofia 846 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM LY BU SUBJECT: BULGARIAN MFA TRANSMITS REQUEST FOR TRANSFER OF MEDICS TO EMBASSY IN TRIPOLI: BALL IN LIBYA'S COURT (AGAIN) ¶1. (SBU) Bulgarian MFA Middle East and Africa Office Director Petko Doykov confirmed July 19, that the MFA had transmitted to the Bulgarian Embassy in Tripoli the official request for transfer of the medics under the bilateral Legal Assistance Agreement. He would not confirm when the request was sent, stating that it was "classified" information, but that the Embassy was in possession of the documents. Asked if the Embassy had submitted the request to the Libyan MFA, Doykov said that he "hoped so." Regarding timing of the transfer, Doykov said that he would not speculate; it is now up to the Libyans. MFA spokesman Dimitar Tsanchev also confirmed to the local press that the MFA "had sent the request for transfer to the Libyan authorities," without elaborating on timing or procedures. ¶2. (SBU) On June 18, Embassy contacts reported that the requests for the nurses had been finalized, but not for the Palestinian doctor because his family had not yet given authorization. When questioned about this, Doykov asserted that the doctor was a Bulgarian citizen and that "all six would be diligently covered." Tshanchev also clarified this point in his July 19 press brief. Asked if he expected that the Libyans would wait until the anticipated visit of French President Sarkozy to finalize a deal, Doykov responded that he couldn't say what the Libyans and French were "cooking up." BEYRLE