site.btaBulgaria, US Ink Defence Cooperation Accord 20 Years Ago

An Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the United States of America on Defense Cooperation was signed in Sofia 20 years ago on Tuesday.

On the day of the signature, the nationalist Ataka Party organized a nearly 2,000-strong protest rally and procession.

On the part of Bulgaria, the Agreement was ratified by the National Assembly on May 26, 2006. The vote was 155 in favour and 20 against (including five Socialist MPs and the Ataka lawmakers). The ratification law was promulgated in the State Gazette on June 6, 2006. The Agreement itself was gazetted on July 7, 2006.

On the US side, the Agreement was concluded as an executive agreement by the executive branch (the State Department, on behalf of the President) rather than as a treaty requiring ratification by the Senate.

The Agreement entered into force on June 12, 2006, after Bulgaria completed all its internal ratification procedures and notified this to the United States.

Eleven additional arrangements, concerning the specifics of the Defense Cooperation Agreement implementation, were signed on February 28, 2008 and were gazetted on March 18, 2008 and the final Implementing Agreement was signed in April 2008.  

Following is the original news itsem in English by which BTA's External Service covered the signing of the Agreement in 2006"

"107 BULGARIA - US - DEFENCE - AGREEMENT (amplified 1)
Bulgaria Signs Defence Cooperation Agreement with United States

Sofia, April 28 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement between the two countries' governments.

Rice is in Sofia for an Informal Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. She conferred earlier in the day with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, who later attended the signature ceremony.

The ten-year agreement, approved by Bulgaria's Council of Ministers last week, contains a provision which says that it may be terminated upon one year's notice. [Unless terminated, it will continue in force.]

The agreement allows the stay of up to 2,500 US service persons in Bulgaria on a rotation basis, stationed at Bulgarian military facilities. During rotation their number may increase to 5,000 for a period of 30 days.

US military are expected to arrive in Bulgaria under this agreement at the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.

US troops in Bulgaria will be subject to the jurisdiction of the US. In the event of a serious crime or a crime of considerable public concern, Bulgaria may unilaterally impose Bulgarian jurisdiction.

The agreement ensures that in facilities used by US military there will be no weapons of mass destruction, and as the US and Russia have agreed on non-presence of nuclear weapons in the new NATO member states, there are also guarantees that nuclear weapons will not be based in Bulgaria.

[The agreement lists three "military agreed facilities and areas" (shared or joint bases): the Novo Selo Training Range (near Sliven, Southeastern Bulgaria), including the Aytos Storage facility (near Burgas, on the Black Sea), the Bezmer Air Base (near Yambol, Southeastern Bulgaria), and the Graf Ignatievo Air Base (near Plovdiv, South Central Bulgaria). The first American troops arrived in September, 2007 for a joint training with the Bulgarian military in Novo Selo.]

At a news conference after signing the agreement, the US Secretary of State made a statement covering a number of issues.

[. . .]

Discussing the agreement just signed, Rice said it will enhance Bulgarian-US cooperation and strengthen the two countries' ability to operate together militarily. 'But it is more than that; it is really a foundational agreement for the broad partnership that Bulgaria and the United States have developed and are developing,' she said.

'This is also a time to recognize that we can broaden and deepen our economic and commercial relationship to meet the high level of our political and defence relations,' Rice said.

She noted that during talks with [Bulgarian] President [Georgi] Purvanov and Prime Minister Stanishev she expressed Washington's appreciation of "the excellent relationship that we have with Bulgaria, a valuable and valued ally."

Rice further said: 'Bulgaria is showing itself to be committed to the forward march of democracy as it works together with us and with NATO in Afghanistan, and as it shoulders responsibility in Iraq. We recognize that none of this comes without sacrifice. We want very much to let Bulgaria know that we will not forget the heroism of its soldiers, those who gave their lives, and let their families know that the American people and the Iraqi people appreciate that sacrifice.'

Concerning Bulgaria's planned accession to the EU, she said: 'This is something we strongly support. We know that Bulgaria is making the necessary reforms, particularly in the area of rule of law, and we strongly support Bulgaria's efforts towards EU membership.'

Foreign Minister Kalfin described the defence agreement as a 'very significant and very successful step forward not only in bilateral relations, but also in furthering the national interests of both countries.'

Thanking the teams who worked on the agreement, he said: "I am happy that we found the right formulas for what is indeed a very good agreement which, besides its military-technical aspect, also has a political and an economic dimension, which are extremely important for both of our countries."

'I am confident,' Kalfin said, "that as we implement this agreement, everybody in Bulgaria and in the US will realize that it opens many more doors and enhances security in Bulgaria and in the region, creating opportunities to develop many new initiatives." /TD/VE"