site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva Holds Bilateral Meetings at UN

New York, September 21 (BTA) - During the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva conferred with Elisabeth I. Millard, acting US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and with Foreign Ministers Eduard Nalbandian of Armenia and Gibran Bassil of Lebanon, Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

"You placed the Western Balkans on the international agenda. Our message is that this region should not be forgotten and the leaders of the countries in it should be encouraged to take up harrowing reforms such as counter-corruption," Millard told Zaharieva. The US administration is of the opinion that the European perspective will inspire those countries to carry out the necessary reforms.

The Foreign Minister presented the foreign policy priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, the most important of which is giving the Western Balkans a European perspective. "We believe that Bulgaria cannot possibly be a stable and rich country if its neighbours are not stable and rich," the chief Bulgarian diplomat emphasized. She expressed satisfaction that the Bulgarian voice had been heard and that the Balkans had become one of the five priorities of the European diplomatic service and that the region figured prominently in the State of the Union Address of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Zaharieva briefed Millard on the results of her Western Balkan tour and on Bulgaria's efforts for an improvement of connectivity in the region, which will have a favourable impact on the investment climate, will increase travel and the closeness between the separate peoples.

The sides discussed the steps that Bulgaria is taking for energy diversification, the anti-corruption legislation and the protection of the EU common border by Bulgaria. A number of issues on the international agenda were discussed at the meeting, including the two countries' positions on all current global issues. "We appreciate the important role of your Presidency," the Acting Assistant Secretary of State emphasized.

She thanked for the assistance that Bulgaria provides to the anti-terrorist coalition in Afghanistan.

Conferring with Nalbandian, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed the trade and tourism potential that Bulgaria and Armenia should develop, as well as the long-standing cultural and historic ties between the Bulgarian and the Armenian people. Young Armenians show growing interest in study at Bulgarian universities, and the nearly 11,000 Bulgarian citizens of Armenian descent are the living link between the two countries.

Zaharieva told Nalbandian that the Eastern Partnership is among the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council. She stressed her country's categorical position that the frozen conflicts in the region must be settled by peaceful and diplomatic means.

Counter-terrorism, halting violence in the Middle East, the situation in Syria and the refugee crisis topped the agenda of the Zaharieva-Bassil talks. The Bulgarian Foreign Minister praised the positive example of Lebanon, where various ethnic and religious communities coexist peacefully. She welcomed the Lebanese Government's efforts to cope with the refugee situation in the country and the strategic choice of increasing closeness with the EU. She recalled that during the Lebanese civil war, the Bulgarian Embassy in Beirut was one of the few missions that did not suspend its operation. For more than half a century now, Bulgaria and Lebanon have enjoyed traditionally friendly relations.