NEW BULGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER STRESSES U.S. TIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000303

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR BU
SUBJECT: NEW BULGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER STRESSES U.S. TIES
AND DEFENSE REFORM

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


1. (C) Summary: In his first meeting with Ambassador
Beyrle, new Defense Minister Nikolai Tsonev affirmed the
primacy of the bilateral relationship for Bulgaria, thanked
the U.S. for its financial support of Bulgarian military
modernization and expressed support for continued Bulgarian
engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan. He expressed confidence
that Bulgaria would continue its military operations in Iraq,
despite the recent closure of the Ashraf Refugee Camp where
the Bulgarian contingent has been stationed since 2006. He
said the military was recommending options for additional
deployments in Afghanistan and were ready to carry out
whatever the ruling coalition approves. Tsonev mentioned his
plans for military modernization and reform of the Ministry's
procurement and land sale procedures, saying he intended to
establish a new office to oversee the sale of MOD real
estate. He also stressed the political importance of the
construction and service contracts for the Joint Training
Facilities and laid down a strong marker of the Bulgarian
public's expectation that these contracts go to Bulgarian
firms. End Summary.


FOCUS ON MODERNIZATION AND INTERNAL REFORM


2. (C) New Defense Minister Tsonev noted that his first
meeting with the Diplomatic Corps was with the U.S.
Ambassador. He stressed the importance of the bilateral
relationship and laid out some of his priorities: 1)
Modernization of Bulgarian Armed Forces in order to meet NATO
requirements to the maximum extent possible; 2) Make
military service an attractive career by improving quality of
life and social status of service members; 3) Ensure that
excellent work of Bulgarian soldiers overseas is understood
by Bulgarian public; 4) Ensure that procurements and property
sales are conducted with maximum transparency.


DEPLOYMENTS TO CONTINUE


3. (C) Tsonev did not directly answer Ambassador Beyrle's
question on when Bulgaria's decision to send an additional 50
troops to take on the Entry Control Point mission at Kandahar
Airfield would be made public. He said only that "he hoped a
political decision would be made soon" and that the MOD would
"adhere to whatever timetable was given to them by the
Government." He added that he greatly appreciated US offers
to provide training for Bulgarian contingents sent to
Afghanistan and Iraq.


4. (C) Regarding Iraq, the new Defense Minister was aware
that the Ashraf mission has effectively ended and said that
"Bulgaria needs to continue involvement in Iraq." He
mentioned that the MOD has come up with several options to
present to the Council of Ministers. He did not elaborate on
what these entailed or when a decision would be made, but
noted that approval from Parliament would be required because
the current mandate is very specific concerning the location
in which the soldiers could serve. According to Tsonev, the
GOB is aware of the short timelines involved and is taking
expedited steps to get legal approval for extension of the
mission in the shortest time possible.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR LOCAL BENEFITS FROM JOINT BASES


5. (C) Tsonev was very concerned about the political
fallout if Bulgarian firms did not win the construction and
service contracts for the joint training facilities and
mentioned the "high expectations" of local companies and
residents multiple times. Ambassador Beyrle assured him that
the Embassy and EUCOM fully understand Bulgarian concerns and
described the many steps we have already taken so that
Bulgarian firms are fully prepared for the competitive
process.


MILITARY MODERNIZATION


6. (C) The Defense Minister noted that due to tight
budgets, he was grateful for every dollar of U.S. assistance.

SOFIA 00000303 002 OF 002


He said he was ready to "start thinking outside the box" on
ways to fund modernization projects and specifically
mentioned his interest in using the sales of MOD land to
finance reforms. The sale process will be based on a
"marketing approach" and will be led by a new office he
intends to have up and running by June 2008. He described
five kinds of land transactions the office would handle:
pure sales, property exchanges, sales of development rights,
construction of new buildings and purchases of new buildings.
Any consultancy assistance from the United States would be
most appreciated, he added.


7. (C) Ambassador Beyrle raised the issue of U.S.-funded
upgrades to EKRAN, a new coastal surveillance system. Tsonev
said he was disappointed the U.S. would provide only $10
million vice $20 million as originally projected. AMB
explained that $10 million was actually better for Bulgaria,
because it would leave more FMF money for other modernization
projects. Tsonev agreed with the need for the Navy to share
information with all other relevant agencies (a requirement
attached to the provision of U.S. funds). He understood the
Navy has appeared reluctant to share information but believed
they had not received sufficient information on the program.
He said he would talk to them.


8. (C) Ambassador Beyrle mentioned that destruction of
MANPADS was the highest USG small arms destruction priority
and that if Bulgaria would be willing to add these weapons to
its destruction list, U.S. funding for destruction could
increase from $300,000 to over $1 million. Tsonev took note
but did not respond.


9. (C) Comment: The new minister is growing into the job
and stuck close to the script. Tsonev was a complete
surprise as the choice of the junior coalition member, NMSS,
to lead the Ministry of Defense. His previous assignment as
Director of the MOD's Social Affairs Executive Agency was
tainted by corruption allegations. His focus on MOD-internal
issues and reference to the MOD following governmental
decisions on overseas deployments implies that military
issues of international significance will continue to be made
by Prime Minister Stanishev and Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Kalfin. Tsonev is not considered a
heavyweight Minister even by members of his own party. He
has room to grow. We'll help, but it will be a steep
learning curve with only a year until elections for a new
government. The departure of at least one talented and
energetic Deputy Minister (Sonya Yankulova) and further
senior management changes will lead to leadership and
management challenges precisely as bilateral cooperation
begins to ramp up with the start of construction on the Joint
Facilities and increasingly ambitious joint training
exercises. End Comment.
Beyrle