site.btaGERB Floor Leader Tsvetanov Holds Meeting in US Atlantic Council

February 7 (BTA) - Bulgarian National
Assembly Internal Security and Public Order Committee Chairman
and GERB Floor Leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who is in Washington
for the traditional Prayer Breakfast with US President Donald
Trump, took part in a meeting with high-ranking US international
 security experts, the GERB Party said in a press release on
Thursday.

Tsvetanov attended a meeting in the Atlantic Council with Ian
Brzezinski and Ambassador Daniel Fried which discussed Balkan
and Black Sea issues on the international agenda.

Brzezinski is an American foreign policy and military affairs
expert. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Europe and NATO Policy in 2001-2005, under President George W.
Bush. In 2000, he became a Senior Professional Staff Member for
the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is also a
member of the Strategic Advisors Group at the Atlantic Council.

Ambassador Fried served as Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs from 2005 to 2009, and as
Coordinator for Sanctions Policy (2013-2017).

The participants in the meeting voiced concern in respect of the
 escalation of tension in the Black Sea region. They noted the
need to work in the direction of better coordination between the
 NATO allies in the region in order to acquire capacity for
adequate reaction in a military or asymmetrical threat for the
sovereignty of the NATO member states. At the moment the biggest
 challenge are authoritarian regimes and the unconventional
means employed by them for confrontation - fake news and
disinformation, internet trolls, cyber attacks, etc. Strong
support was expressed for the resolution of the Bulgarian
Parliament to mandate the Government of Bulgaria to start
negotiations with the US on the acquisition of F-16 fighters.
The US experts said that this will guarantee the
interoperability of the Bulgarian Air Force with the air forces
of the neighbouring NATO member states.

Tsvetanov spoke about the significance of the Western Balkans,
noting that it is the European perspective for these countries
and membership in NATO which gives them a horizon for
development in the next decades.

The participants in the meeting agreed to continue the regular
exchange of information and look for opportunities to expand the
 bilateral contacts.

The Prayer Breakfast with US President Trump takes place on
Friday. The Bulgarian participants in it are Tsvetanov, Movement
 for Rights and Freedoms Chairman Mustafa Karadayi, GERB MP
Plamen Nounev, opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party MP Zhelyo
Bouchev, Deputy Sports Minister Vanya Koleva and Sofia Deputy
Mayor Todor Chobanov. RY/ZH

/СН/