Translation Blunder Stirs Dismay at Steinberg's Sofia Briefing

A mistake of an interpreter during the press conference of the US Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg, caused tumult among reporters. Photo by BGNES

A remark by the US Deputy Secretary of State, John Steinberg, during his briefing in Sofia Thursday stirred confusion and uneasiness among reporters gathered to hear his comments.

Steinberg is on an official one-day visit to Bulgaria, and gave a press conference after the meeting with Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.

At the briefing, the US Deputy Secretary of State was quoted thanking Bulgaria for the “its assistance for the additional equipment for the Guantanamo Bay prisoners.”

When asked to clarify what exactly the statement meant, Borisov turned to Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, conferred with him, and then explained the words were a mistake in translation.

The blunder prompted the PM to declare officially that Bulgaria has no intentions to accept any more prisoners from Guantanamo; that the issue had never been put on the table during his talks with Steinberg, and that the later simply thanked Bulgaria for accepting already one of these prisoners.

The US Deputy Secretary of State offered high prises to Bulgaria Thursday, saying the country is the most reliable partner and applauded efforts to carry out economic reforms.

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