America Won't Modernize Bulgaria's Army - Ambassador to US

Defense | January 7, 2012, Saturday // 16:55|  views

Bulgarian Ambassador to Washington DC, Elena Poptodorova. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgaria cannot rely too much on US support for the modernization of its army due to the Pentagon's decreased budget for the next decade, Bulgarian Ambassador to the US Elena Poptodorova believes.

The direct bilateral modernization opportunities that existed before the onset of the economic crisis will not be substantial, Poptodorova has told Deutsche Welle.

US President Barack Obama recently unveiled his administration's plan for a leaner, cheaper military as part of Washington's fiscal belt-tightening policy. The strategy is designed to accommodate at least USD 450 B in Pentagon cuts over the next ten years.

The decrease in the US military presence in Europe is believed by experts to become one of the imminent consequences of the spending cuts, even though Obama has declared that the new strategy does not mean an American withdrawal from Europe and NATO.

The Bulgarian Ambassador has stated that the US military presence in NATO's European headquarters as a whole – and in Bulgaria's region in particular – will probably be reduced.

"It is important for us figure out what our chances are to maintain, if not increase, our military cooperation with the US," Poptodorova has commented.

"It is also important to see what the perspectives are for the US role in Europe in the future, since, for instance, Bulgaria's participation in military missions depends on that," she has added.

However, Poptodorova has pointed out that Bulgaria will not be completely dropped out of the US sphere of interests because of its strategic place in the Black Sea region and its potential as a partner in peacekeeping.

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Tags: army, military, US, Elena Poptodorova, modernization, Barack Obama, NATO

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