German Paper: Bulgaria Role in US Missile Defense to Renew Europe Debates

The plans of US President Obama to locate US missile shield elements on the Balkans will spur debates similar to the plans for Poland and the Czech Republic under George W. Bush. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The talk about Bulgaria’s potential participation in the US missile defense is going to renew the debates in Europe about the American project from the time it was proposed by George W. Bush.

This position is expressed in a Wednesday’s article of the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which reminds that Romania has already made it clear it would agree to participating the US missile defense.

The article points out that even though there had been no formal US request for Bulgaria to join the American missile shield in Europe, Russian representatives have raised concerns that the location of elements of the missile defense in Bulgaria and Romania could threaten Russia’s security.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung reminds that the successor of George W. Bush, US President Barack Obama has renounced the plans to center the missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic saying since Iran – from which the shield is said to be supposed to protect America’s European allies – could threaten Europe with small and medium range missiles.

The paper cites the Bulgarian Socialist MEP and former Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin as saying that Bulgaria’s participation in the US missile shield could threaten its economic relations with Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is quoted as saying during his Nicaragua visit that Russia expected a clarification on part of Bulgaria with regard to its role in the US missile shield.

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