site.btaDay Two of Foreign Minister Mitov's US Visit

Day Two of Foreign Minister Mitov's US Visit

Washington, DC/Sofia, July 24 (BTA) - On Day Two of his working visit to Washington, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov met with Amos Hochstein, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US State Department, and Daniel Fried, the State Department's Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, the Foreign Ministry said. Mitov started his visit on Thursday.

Mitov also met with Heather A. Conley, Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; and Director, Europe Program, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and with Thomas Carothers, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Bulgaria's chief diplomat participated in an Atlantic Council roundtable on strengthening security in the Black Sea Region after the Warsaw Summit.

Mitov and Hochstein focused on the implementation of Bulgaria's and the region's priority energy projects, with a special emphasis on the gas interconnector with Greece and the LNG terminal near Alexandroupolis. The sides stressed the need to step up the implementation of the two projects in view of their key importance to diversified energy supplies and competitive market prices.

Mitov and Fried discussed US-EU cooperation in sanctions policy and possible ways to make it more effective. Developments in Ukraine, the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the risks and threats posed by the changed security environment in Europe, the Middle East conflicts, migration and terrorism topped the agenda of the meeting.

Meeting with Heather Conley, Mitov discussed strengthening the civil societies in the countries of South Eastern Europe, the role of the media, the situation in Ukraine, the results of the NATO Warsaw Summit, and security in the Balkans and the Black Sea Region.

Mitov and Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment discussed aspects of security in South Eastern Europe.

The Atlantic Council roundtable brought together Gen. Philip Breedlove, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of US European Command; Michael Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence with responsibility for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia; former US Ambassador to Bulgaria Marcie Ries; Atlantic Council Executive Vice President Damon Wilson; and Ian Brzezinski of the Atlantic Council's Strategic Advisors Group, among others.

Speaking at the roundtable, Mitov expressed satisfaction with the political consensus reached at the Warsaw Summit and stressed that now was the time to deliver the commitments made there. The future important steps include strengthening capabilities and security along the whole of NATO's Eastern flank, including the Black Sea Region. He stated that Bulgaria supports regional cooperation in the Black Sea Region intended to boost security under NATO auspices and command. It was noted at the discussion that the capabilities of the ground, naval and air forces are in need of balanced strengthening. In this context, Mitov talked about the Bulgarian government's plans for Air Force modernization.