Bulgaria to Contribute Funds to NATO Defense System

Defense Minister, Anyu Angelov, says Bulgaria will contribute funds to the NATO defense system, but the idea is still in an initial stage. Photo by BGNES

The NATO missile shield in Europe will cost twice as much than the amount stated by the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, during his recent visit to Sofia.

The statement was made Thursday by Bulgaria's Defense Minister, Anyu Angelov, who said he is using a presentation of the North Atlantic Alliance where the amount is listed at EUR 400 M. According to Angelov, the amount of EUR 200 M, which Rasmussen gave, might be just a lapsus, but the difference is not much considering the NATO budget and the fact the sum will be divided among 28 countries in the next 10 to 12 years.

The Minister informed Thursday the Bulgarian Members of the Parliament about the stages of the establishment of the missile defense in Europe.

The first stage begins in 2011 and will include locating radars on ships in the Mediterranean without the participation of Bulgarian ships.

During the second stage, SM-3 missiles will be located on land in Southern Europe and Romania has expressed strong desire to participate which, if materialized, will make Bulgaria's inclusion in the second stage unnecessary, according to Angelov. Such missiles will be also located on land in Poland.

The final stage is planned for 2018 when the entire territory of Europe will be covered by the defense shield protecting the NATO member states not just from short- and medium range missiles but also from ICBMs.

While is Sofia, Rasmussen explained the US missile defense in Europe is expected to be adopted as an all-NATO project during the upcoming summit in Lisbon.

Bulgaria will contribute funds to the NATO defense system, but the idea is still in an initial stage, Angelov said, adding that currently there have not been and aren't any conversations about the technical parameters of Bulgaria's eventual involvement.

It was reported earlier Thursday that the US Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher, who is in charge of arms control and international security affairs at the US State Department, has made it clear, in an interview for the Russian news agency Interfax, the US has never asked Bulgaria to participate in the missile shield.

At the beginning of 2010, the US Embassy in Sofia and the Bulgarian government revealed that there had been unofficial conversations about the possibility of Bulgaria hosting elements of the US missile shield in Europe, which triggered strong negative reaction from Russia.

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