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<TITLE>Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Todor Tchourov...Bulgarian
Perspectives on Regional Security</TITLE>
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<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+4">Bulgarian Perspectives on
Regional Security</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">Bulgarian Deputy Foreign
Minister Todor Tchourov</FONT></FONT></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">I would like to share some
Bulgarian perceptions on common foreign and security-related issues. Dr.
Pascu, along with other panel participants under the able guidance of our
Hungarian colleague Eniko Bollobas, have made my task both easy and
difficult. The good (and also bad) news is that there is little left to
add. Let me offer, however, some complementary touches on security and
integration from a Bulgarian perspective.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">THE CURRENT
TRANSITIONAL STAGE</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">It seems that we are undergoing
a unique transitional stage, the main features of which are a changing
political geography, emerging new risks and challenges, and a gradual
shifting from what we might call "friend and foe" security
systems to more open, transparent, non-discriminatory, mutually
reinforcing security arrangements.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The fall of the Berlin Wall
certainly caused many changes, but what followed never met the overall
expectations. Today, nobody contests the interdependence of European
states or the necessity of common participation and burden-sharing, but
some countries have been placed in a more inequitable position.
Coincidentally, these countries happen to be societies in transition that
are moving toward sharing democratic values and building a free market
economy. Their commitment to democracy requires stability, and stability
is only a vague notion without credible security. The internal security
dimension is, of course, a direct and indispensable national imperative,
but security's external arrangements--i.e., the provision of reliable
guarantees--should be of equally national and international concern.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">A COMMITTED AND
RELIABLE PARTNER</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Bulgaria has committed itself to
providing adequate conditions for the stable, peaceful, and successful
completion of the transitional period. Achieving this goal, however, also
requires that we deal adequately with existing "security vacuum"
zones. We are among those very few states that, from a strictly military
point of view, gained very little after the dismantling of the bipolar
security system. At the same time, Bulgaria's geostrategic location and
security environment continues to cause deep concerns, and we are still
without a real security framework able to deal with the existing
challenges.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The crisis in the former
Yugoslavia remains an important source of domestic concern. This crisis
threatens to become a major military factor that will undermine regional
stability. We cannot afford to overlook its potential for spilling over to
other sensitive areas. The need for efficient and timely intervention in
the form of international preventive diplomacy and preventive deployment
activities must become part of our agenda, and we have explicitly welcomed
all relevant initiatives.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">We are also aware of our own
importance concerning the implementation of the international community's
objective of a peaceful conflict resolution; being a reliable partner, we
fully support international efforts and are contributing to them. At the
same time, Bulgaria is among the states that are suffering the greatest
political, economic, and psychological losses. We are real "hostages"
to the conflict. Our financial losses already go beyond what is tolerable,
but whether these losses should be the only source of long-term concerns
is in doubt. Regretfully, the conflict is also casting a shadow of "Balkanization"
on the overall Bulgarian image, a shadow that may have durable negative
implications for our national economic development. While the majority of
countries in the region have an escape route from this "image trap"
through their membership in the European Union, NATO, and the WEU, we
stand at the periphery of foreign investment. A feeling of uncertainty and
unpredictability shared by the international financial community condemns
us to partial isolation. Quite naturally, Bulgarian public opinion is
sensitized to these matters.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Bulgaria is a committed and
reliable partner in all European arms-control and confidence-building
arrangements. In concert with almost all our neighbors, we have
established bilateral agreement packages. They constitute a system of
confidence and security-building (CSB) measures beyond the Helsinki
process that is probably unique in Europe. We hope that these bilateral
agreements will greatly contribute to the further deepening of confidence
in the region.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">We do maintain high-profile
relations with two NATO member states: Greece and Turkey. The Cold
War-period suspicion and mistrust has been overcome and replaced with
mutually beneficial cooperation in all aspects, including security. At the
same time, our public is concerned about the arms modernization and
rearmament trends now taking place in our neighborhood. As a CFE
procedure, "cascading" is legal, but when it comes to a region
in which one part is engulfed in violent conflict and another part in
meaningful confidence-building and cooperation, a question comes to mind:
should financial and military considerations prevail over longer-term
political and moral values and perspectives?</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Since I am on the subject of
regional imbalances, I would like to draw attention to the military
situation in the Yugoslav Republic which remains totally out of control.
It is obvious that these armed forces must be placed under the same
restrictions as those affecting armed forces in neighbor countries that
are bound by the CFE Treaty.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">CONTRIBUTING TO
REGIONAL AND EUROPEAN SECURITY</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Given the current security
environment, the lack of a well-established and efficient European
security architecture, and bilateral cooperation's somewhat limited
potential for enhancing our national security, we are faced with the task
of obtaining external security guarantees. Joining the European and
Euro-Atlantic security structures is, as far as our foreign policy is
concerned, a major priority that does not run against any other country's
interests and enjoys full political and public support. We want to be a
reliable and committed contributor to regional and European security
through the development of a stable, functioning democracy and a balanced
and responsible foreign and security policy.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">This is why, in addition to our
active participation in the U.N. and the CSCE, we are trying to join the
European Union and the WEU, as well as the post-COCOM structure and the
only two non-proliferation organizations that we are not members of: the
MICR and the Australia Group. On numerous occasions, we have declared our
readiness to share the responsibilities of membership in NATO, which
constitutes a unique forum for the transatlantic link and has
incontestable political and military capabilities. We do believe that
expanding NATO to include new members will not erode the Alliance's
cohesion, but rather will reinforce the European security contribution.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Even now, our cooperation with
the Alliance is multidimensional. The very good bilateral relations we
have established with NATO and its member states are being translated into
ambitious and far-reaching programs. We are a committed participant in the
NACC process. Although NACC is by no means perfect, it continues to
provide the necessary forum for expanded consultations on political and
security-related issues. In this way, it is fostering a joint-effort
spirit dedicated to ensuring security cooperation between partners with
different perceptions and potential.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+1">THE PARTNERSHIP FOR
PEACE FRAMEWORK</FONT></FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">Bulgaria was among the first
group of countries to join the Partnership for Peace program. We have now
elaborated a Presentation Document and submitted it to the NATO
authorities. Very soon, we hope to have our Individual Partnership
Program, tailored to our common needs and potential.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">We attach particular importance
to the balance between military and non-military activities in the
program. We have proposed an enhanced political consultation process, to
be undertaken within the Partnership for Peace framework, aimed at
increasing stability, diminishing threats to peace, and building
reinforced relationships with the Alliance. This enhanced political
cooperation should promote practical defense-related and military
cooperation and prepare us for future membership obligations. We hope it
will also be a main priority of the Partnership since it reveals in a very
convincing, efficient, and resource-saving manner, the level of political
cohesion, interoperability, confidence, and trust. It opens the way for
shaping joint decisions and creative work for the accomplishment of NATO's
new missions, particularly those connected with out of area operations.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">The Partnership framework will
give additional impetus to promoting transparency and predictability, and
ensuring democratic control over the armed forces. Through PFP, we are
supporting the idea of building and training forces that will contribute
to U.N. and CSCE peacekeeping, search and rescue, and humanitarian
operations. The Partnership, we hope, will provide practical arrangements
for the development of forces that can better operate with those of Allied
member nations. NATO's role as a security organization should not be
limited to defense; it should also support emerging democracy.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">In our view, the Partnership
could lay the foundation for the desired expansion. It sets out an
explicitly binding "code of conduct," based on shared values and
principles. It could provide a sound basis for forging a common security
and defense policy; it offers the necessary ground for elaborating
compatible command, control, and communication structures. It reinforces
the military "human dimension" factor, too. It might and should
serve as the transitional stage from an ambiance of security to the
extension of practical security guarantees. This is our assessment, and we
firmly believe that the latest North Atlantic Council (NAC) signals have
been very much in the same line.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+0">We plan to assume our share of
responsibilities and contributions according to the pace and scope
determined by our national potential; we also hope that our expectations
will be met adequately. Enhancement of overall European security can
hardly be managed by separate activities in the field of security. It
should be underpinned with substantial steps toward economic and political
association throughout the continent. The integration process will be more
feasible if it is timely and complementary: this is our common
responsibility in the name of security and stability in Europe. The era of
barely controlled uncertainty must end, and we must firmly take control of
our common future.</FONT></FONT> </P>
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