BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR: WE WANT TO SUPPORT IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 003252 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV IZ BG SUBJECT: BULGARIAN AMBASSADOR: WE WANT TO SUPPORT IRAQ Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Bulgaria is proud of its service in the Coalition and wants to remain engaged in Iraq, regardless of the probable departure of its 155 troops from Iraq at the end of the year, according to Bulgarian Ambassador Valeri Ratchev. Ratchev, who has just begun a three week visit to Baghdad, said the spirit of Bulgarian troops at Camp Cropper is good, as is the level of cooperation with U.S. counterparts. In a cordial meeting on October 2 with Ambassador Crocker and General Odierno, Ratchev said Bulgaria is interested in looking at other ways to contribute to Iraq's development, including through the NATO Training Mission (NTM-I),expanded trade, and investment in the energy sector. He said a high-level Bulgarian delegation may come to Iraq in December to mark the conclusion of Bulgaria's military mission in Iraq and promised to coordinate with the U.S. on specific dates. He also noted that Bulgaria has invited a number of prominent Iraqi political and government figures to Sofia and wanted to make sure the U.S. believed this was helpful. Finally, Ratchev said that as efforts to locate a suitable IZ location for its Embassy had not panned out, Bulgaria will now begin renovating its existing Red Zone embassy compound. End Summary. -------------- Visit to Camp Cropper, SOFA, NTM-I and Bulgaria's Future Role -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador Ratchev began by reporting on his visit earlier in the day to Camp Cropper, where 155 Bulgarian troops are stationed. He found the spirit of the troops good, commended the excellent cooperation they have had with U.S. counterparts, and said he would report to Sofia that "all is going well." Looking ahead, he queried the Ambassador and General Odierno on the role Bulgaria can play in the future, given the expectation that a U.S.-Iraq bilateral security agreement will be concluded by the end of the year. The Ambassador outlined the current state of play of the negotiations, noted that our negotiating team had just returned to Baghdad, and that, while substantial progress has been made, there are still some tough issues yet to be resolved. As is the case with all such complex negotiations, the Ambassador noted, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. He noted that while we fully expect various Iraqi politicians to play the populist card and publicly criticize any agreement reached, in the end, all of Iraq's communities understand that the continued presence of U.S. forces is in their interest. ¶3. (C) Turning to Ambassador Ratchev's question, General Odierno said that, as the GOI had decided to reduce the number of Coalition countries at the end of this year, Bulgaria's role will need to change. Participation in NTM-I would be a welcome and valuable contribution, and the GOI and NATO are preparing a letter of agreement that would provide the basis for Bulgaria and other NATO countries to continue their support of Iraq's military development. Ratchev, noting that he is a "great supporter" of the NTM-I concept, said Bulgaria's one concern has been the dearth of Bulgarian officers proficient in Arabic. Thus far, three officers with the requisite language skills have been identified and work continues to find/train more. He also noted that Bulgaria is considering the idea of developing some type of military training facility -- possibly as part of a broader "training consortium" -- that could be of value to Iraqi officers. He noted that a number of Iraqi Generals have conveyed to him the value of training experiences in "middle level" countries, such as Bulgaria, as a complement to the experience officers gain in the U.S. General Odierno responded that there is a definite appetite among Iraqis for training and Bulgaria's ideas had potential. ¶4. (C) Given the strong probability that Bulgarian troops will depart by year's end with the expiration of the UNSCR, Ambassador Ratchev sought guidance on whether Bulgaria should make any public statements on the subject at this time. General Odierno counseled that it would be better to hold off for now. While we fully expect to conclude a bilateral security agreement by the end of the year, there is still a slim chance the UNSCR could be renewed. If the latter were to occur, we would want Bulgarian troops to remain. Thus, at least for the time being, it would be better for Sofia not to make public statements announcing the planned departure of its troops until the situation is clearer. -------------- October Visit of Defense Minister Tsonev; Possible High Level Delegation in December -------------- BAGHDAD 00003252 002 OF 003 ¶5. (C) Ratchev said that current plans are for Bulgarian Defense Minister Tsonev to visit Iraq on October 21 (vice October 18) and would include both a visit to Bulgarian troops at Camp Cropper and a number of bilateral meetings with GOI officials. Beyond that, Ratchev said that he foresaw a subsequent visit in December by Tsonev, and perhaps some other senior GOB officials, to mark officially the conclusion of Bulgaria's on-the-ground role in the Coalition. Given the Christmas holidays, he said such a ceremony would best be scheduled for the first or second week of December. Ambassador Crocker and General Odierno both agreed that this would be an appropriate way to commemorate Bulgaria's contribution and said we should work together to identify specific dates. -------------- Possible Iraqi Visits to Sofia -------------- ¶6. (C) Ratchev then noted that the GOB has invited a number of senior Iraqi political figures to Sofia and he sought Ambassador Crocker's and General Odierno's views on whether this is helpful. He said invitations have been extended to Speaker of the Parliament Mashadani; Humam Hammudi, head of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee; Hadi al-Amri, head of the Badr Organization; Minister of Finance Jabur al-Zubaidi; and Minister of Defense Mohammed Jasim al-Aubaidi. He also noted that he has extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Zebari to visit in October to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bulgarian-Iraqi diplomatic relations. ¶7. (C) Ambassador Crocker remarked that visits to countries, like Bulgaria, that have recently gone through a transition to democracy are of great value. The Ambassador noted that Mashadani is a complex and sometimes difficult figure, but one who has played a critical role in getting the Iraqi Parliament to pass key legislation, most recently the provincial elections law. The more he sees how democratic nations operate, the better. -------------- Economic Opportunities -------------- ¶8. (C) Ambassador Crocker said Bulgaria's decision to settle Iraq's debt according to Paris Club terms was greatly appreciated by the Iraqis and the U.S. He encouraged Bulgaria to remain engaged in the International Compact for Iraq (ICI) process. Bulgaria's historic economic ties to Iraq gave it an especially valuable perspective. In response, Ambassador Ratchev noted that Bulgaria sees Iraq as important in a number of ways. First, he assessed that the NABUCCO pipeline can only be economically viable if Iraq is part of it. Second, he said Bulgaria is interested in working with others in the EU to explore opportunities for building electrical power plants in the country. Third, he noted that a significant amount of Bulgarian exports go to Iraq via Turkey. Some Bulgarian companies have expressed an interest in establishing more direct linkages for fear of eventually being locked out of future opportunities by Turkish competitors who have deeper on-the-ground roots here. Finally, he noted that during Saddam's time, current Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi headed an Iraqi-Bulgarian Trading company. Al-Hashemi, he said, has expressed interest in opportunities for bilateral commercial cooperation. The Ambassador noted that this level of Bulgarian interest is good, but also noted that Iraq remains a difficult business environment. The more Bulgaria can do to encourage the GOI to take measures to make Iraq more business-friendly, the better. -------------- Bulgarian Embassy Site -------------- ¶9. (C) Before the meeting concluded, Ambassador Ratchev raised the issue of reopening a Bulgarian Embassy in Baghdad. Ambassador Crocker confirmed that the earlier idea for Bulgaria to take over the former Chief of Mission Residence (CMR) is no longer on the table. The GOI, which, he noted, is increasingly asserting sovereignty on a wide range of matters, has made clear its intentions to use the property for the office of Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh. Ratchev expressed frustration with the GOI's inability to provide him clear answers on this matter. Although disappointed by the news, Ratchev said he then would begin efforts to renovate Bulgaria's Red Zone compound which, he noted, had once been one of Bulgaria's largest embassies in the world ("bigger than even our embassy in Moscow"). He requested U.S. assistance in assessing the security situation at the compound which currently has only two Iraqi guards on BAGHDAD 00003252 003 OF 003 the site. Ambassador Crocker and General Odierno responded that we would be happy to have our security experts work with him on this issue. In the interim, Ratchev noted that he will continue covering Iraq as he has in the past -- based in Sofia and staying at the Rasheed Hotel when he visits -- at USD 350 night. CROCKER