VZCZCXRO0349
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHSF #0218 0471415
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161415Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3246
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SOFIA 000218 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2017 
TAGS: PREL EUN NATO XH BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA SEEKS GUIDANCE ON HOSTING NEXT V-10 
MEETING 
 
REF: SOFIA 114 
 
Classified By: DCM Alex Karagiannis, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) This is a guidance request.  Please see paragraph 6. 
 
¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Kalfin informally offered on January 
25 to host a meeting of Vilnius-10 countries in Sofia 
(reftel).  The MFA remains interested in hosting the event, 
but is reluctant formally to accept or discuss dates while 
the meeting format, topics, and participation remain unclear. 
 
 
¶3. (C) The Bulgarians would like to invite the Western Balkan 
countries and DAS DiCarlo, as was the case in Ljubljana. 
Excluding the Western Balkans would send the wrong signal to 
these countries as the Kosovo final status process moves 
forward, according to MFA Security Policy Director Petyo 
Petev, who represented Bulgaria at the meeting in Ljubljana. 
The Bulgarian preference is for the format to be similar to 
Ljubljana:  a working dinner on the eve of the meeting, 
followed by a working breakfast, formal meeting at the MFA, 
and finally a working lunch.  The dinner and breakfast could 
be breakout sessions for the V-10 and Western Balkans, hosted 
by PDAS Volker and DAS DiCarlo respectively, as we understand 
was the case in Ljubljana. 
 
¶4. (C) We suggest the following core agenda items; the 
Bulgarians will accept almost anything we suggest, but may 
want to add a few items of their own: 
 
Energy Security - This should be our "headline" issue -- 
specifically, encouraging V-10 nations to speak with a common 
voice for a strong EU energy policy. 
 
Black Sea Security - Bulgarians and Romanians often speak of 
"EU on the Black Sea" -- discussions could highlight the 
implications of their recent accession, while emphasizing the 
continuing need for engagement with Georgia and the need for 
a workable framework for multilateral security cooperation 
(such as Operation Black Sea Harmony). 
 
Afghanistan - We should encourage participants to discuss how 
Allies can better cooperate in ways that will allow them to 
lift caveats and strengthen ISAF, e.g., by sharing equipment 
and experience.  Bulgaria, for example, has staff officers in 
Hungary's Afghan PRT and appears close to an 
equipment-sharing agreement with Italy that will allow it to 
lift caveats in their joint area of operations. 
 
Kosovo - Particularly if Western Balkan nations are invited, 
discussion of Kosovo and Euro-Atlantic integration of the 
Balkans will be high on the agenda. The Bulgarians will 
no-doubt want to add this to the agenda in any case. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Timing:  We suggest proposing to the Bulgarians that 
they host the V-10 meeting before the next NATO ministerial 
in late April.  We understand PDAS Volker and DAS DiCarlo 
will be available the weeks of April 9 and April 16.  The 
Bulgarians have indicated that at least the first half of the 
week of April 9 would not be feasible (they will be streaming 
back to Sofia from the Orthodox Easter Monday holiday on 
April 9). 
 
Guidance request: 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (C) We request Department guidance on the meeting's 
proposed agenda, format, and the availability of Washington 
participants.  The Bulgarian MFA has asked for this 
information prior to making a final decision whether to host 
the meeting.  We understand the Slovenes will host an 
informal meeting of V-10 embassies in Washington on February 
23, and we will encourage the Bulgarians to offer formally to 
host the meeting at that time. 
 
BEYRLE