PM Denies Talks to Host US Missile Shield Radar in Bulgaria

Bulgarian PM Borisov said there had been no talks for the hosting of the US missile defense in Europe radar on Bulgarian soil. This runs counter to WT report citing Pentagon sources that America was close to getting a respective deal with Bulgaria or Turk

There have been no talks between the Bulgarian government and the USA for hosting a radar of the future US missile defense in Europe on Bulgarian soil, according to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

On Wednesday, Borisov denied all reports of international media that the Pentagon was close to securing a deal for the location of a high-powered X-band radar in either Bulgaria, or Turkey, as part of establishment of the US missile shield in Europe.

The setting up of the US radar in Southeastern Europe is part of the Obama Administration plan for the missile defense. Since the fall of 2009, it has modified the original Bush Administration plan for basing interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic.

Under the new plan, the interceptors and the radar of the US missile defense in Europe are likely to be located in Bulgaria and Romania.

According to a recent report of The Washington Post, if the US Defense Department is close to a deal with Bulgaria or Turkey for installing the radar, the first phase of the shield against an Iranian missile threat may become operational as early as 2011.

Statements of the Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov have indicated that Bulgaria was interested by all means to participate in the US missile defense in Europe, whose official purpose is to provide protection from missiles launch from Iran or from elsewhere in the Middle East.

The new radar is expected to provide early warning of any launches from Iran, The Washington Post noted. Last year, Iran successfully tested its upgraded Shahab-3 ballistic missile, the striking distance of which include Turkey, Israel, the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan

It is still unclear whether Turkey would agree to host elements of the US missile defense in Europe, which is officially directed against its neighbor Iran.

As far as the Bulgarian participation is concerned, senior Bulgarian officials have expressed high hopes that during NATO’s Lisbon Summit in November 2010, the Alliance will adopt the US missile shield in Europe as a NATO-wide project.

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