Bulgaria Backs Kosovo's Territorial Integrity at NATO Ministerial

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2-L) shares a laugh with British Foreign Secretary William Hague (3-L) prior to a group picture at a NATO Foreign ministers conference in Brussels, Belgium 07 December 2011. EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria has stressed its adherence to the principled position of NATO on preserving Kosovo's territorial integrity, according to the speech of the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov at the annual meeting of the Alliance member states' top diplomats.

"The general principled agreement for the territorial integrity of Kosovo was among the main points stressed by Nikolay Mladenov. He described Serbia's desire to receive an Individual Partnership Action Plan as a positive step in its ties with NATO," Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry explained in a statement Thursday.

Mladenov has further emphasized that the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina need to reach an agreement in order to get NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).

The other major issues on the agenda of the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting were the partnerships of the Pact with the Middle East and North Africa countries in the context of the Arab Spring revolutions, as well as the cooperation between NATO and Russia.

Bulgaria's top diplomat has reacted to the call of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for concrete actions to back the democratic transitions of the Arab countries by putting forth the Sofia Platform, an initiative of the Bulgarian government led by Mladenov himself for forum meetings seeking to analyze and utilize the experience of Central and Eastern Europe for the benefits of the Arab Spring nations.

"Civilian control on the military and a society's capacity to follow reforms in defense are two key aspects of security," Mladenov is quoted as saying in that respect.

During the NATO ministerial in Brussels, the foreign ministers have also discussed the preparation of the NATO summit in Chicago in May 2012 as well as the international military operations of the Alliance, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.

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