site.btaBulgaria's Foreign Minister: ISIS Will Revive Very Quickly If EU, NATO Pull Out of Iraq

January 11 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Talking to Bulgarian journalists in Brussels, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said Sofia is urging for tension in the Middle East to deescalate and for preserving the anti-Isis coalition and the training mission in Iraq. She attended the Extraordinary Meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council here on Friday.

Zaharieva said it would be a very bad decision for those forces to pull out because this would lead to chaos and to a very quick revival of ISIS. She noted that this would render pointless the hitherto efforts of the international community which have involved a human toll and a financial contribution.

"Libya is in our backyard, there are some 700,000 to 800,000 illegal migrants there now, though not all of them want to go to Europe," said Bulgaria's chief diplomat, adding that ever more ISIS fighters are leaving Syria for Libya. That is why it is very important to start stabilizing that African country as soon as possible.

Zaharieva stressed it was crucial for everyone to back Germany's and the UN's efforts towards an agreement on a ceasefire in Libya and compliance with the arms embargo. "We are all concerned that the EU may lose its leverage at the negotiating table as it did in Syria, and only suffer the aftermath and pay, without participating in the political process. That is why we support Germany's efforts to prevent this," she said.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister supports the possibility for the EU to have a special envoy for the Middle East. Zaharieva also said the EU could act as a mediator between Tehran and Washington in settling outstanding issues. RI/DD
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