US embassy cable - 05SOFIA1860

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 001860 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, KCRM, LY, IZ, BU 
SUBJECT: BULGARIAN FOREIGN MINSTER DISCUSSES LIBYA, IRAQ, 
ORGANIZED CRIME 
 
REF: A. SOFIA 1875 
     B. M. JOHNSON - BRANDON/GAVITO E-MAILS 07 OCT 05 
        AND 10 OCT 05 
 
Classified By: DCM Jeff Levine, reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  Foreign Minister Kalfin told the Ambassador 
October 27 that Bulgaria would be ready "soon" to continue 
discussions regarding a follow-on mission for Bulgarian 
soldiers in Iraq.  We will follow up with the MFA the week of 
October 31.  On the fate of the Bulgarian nurses sentenced to 
death in Libya, Kalfin reiterated his appreciation for 
President Bush's strong statement of support.   He stressed 
the importance of making progress before the November 15 
Libyan supreme court hearing and expressed his government's 
support for an early  meeting of the U.S., EU, and Bulgaria 
that would also include the Libyans.  UK Ambassador Hill 
confirmed that HMG had invited the Libyans to such a meeting 
in London and that "the assumption was" that Obeidi would 
attend.  Kalfin expressed the GOB's determination to find the 
killer(s) of controversial banker Emil Kyulev (ref A) and 
crack down on organized crime. He asked for U.S. assistance 
in both areas.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) At a lunch hosted by FM Kalfin October 27 for the U.S. 
and UK ambassadors, Kalfin reiterated his government's pledge 
to delay the beginning of the current Bulgarian contingent's 
withdrawal from Iraq until after the December 15 elections. 
He said the government was discussing follow-on options in 
the context of President Purvanov's October 18 meeting with 
President Bush.  He assured Beyrle that the government would 
be ready shortly to continue discussions regarding the nature 
of the Bulgarian follow-on mission.  Kalfin implied that the 
GOB was giving the MEK mission a second look in the aftermath 
of President Purvanov's meetings and the Bulgarian army's 
visit to Camp Ashraf. 
 
3. (C) The primary purpose of the lunch was to discuss next 
steps in the case of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya.  Kalfin 
said the Bulgarians "do not expect a positive result" when 
the Libyan supreme court reviews the nurses' death sentence 
on November 15.  A decision to uphold the sentences will make 
it much more difficult to resolve the case, Kalfin said, 
because public reaction in Bulgaria will be extremely 
negative.  The GOB does not want to be in a position where 
the Libyans can say "either you do what we want or we kill 
them," because the perception in Bulgaria will be that the 
government is being blackmailed. 
 
4. (C)  Kalfin sketched the outlines of a settlement that 
would involve medical assistance for the victims of the 
Benghazi AIDS epidemic, possible forgiveness of Libya's 20 
million USD debt to Bulgaria, the return of the nurses to 
Bulgaria, and "face-saving measures" for Qadhafi. A 
recently-created Bulgarian NGO is preparing to meet with the 
victims and their families to discuss medical assistance. 
The paper given to the Bulgarians by Qadhafi's son in London 
(ref B), while containing many unacceptable provisions, was a 
starting point for discussions, Kalfin said.  At the same 
time, Kalfin noted that it is important for the U.S., UK and 
EU to "continue to make Qadhafi uncomfortable."  He said the 
he hoped the Council of Europe would issue a declaration 
affirming the nurses innocence on November 2.  A fourth 
U.S./EU/Bulgaria trilat and a U.S./EU demarche in Tripoli 
before November 15 would also be welcomed.  Kalfin said that 
a postponement of the November 15 court decision would be a 
sign of Libya's seriousness. 
 
5. (C) UK Ambassador Hill said the next step should be to 
"approach Tripoli in the next 24 hours and ask for a date" 
for the meeting between the U.S., UK, Bulgaria, and Libya. 
Based on PM Blair's recent conversation with Qadhafi, Hill 
said he was confident the Libyans would offer a date for the 
talks "within three or four days."  He expressed guarded 
optimism, saying that "if we can engage them next week, 
things may go quickly." 
 
6. (C) Kalfin assured both Ambassadors of the government's 
intention to crack down hard on organized crime in the wake 
of the murder of controversial banker Emil Kyulev on October 
26.  He called the killing "a threat to the very basis of the 
state." This echoed -- at least by implication -- Interior 
Minister Petkov's assertion that Kyulev's killing was a 
politically-motivated attack aimed at delaying Bulgaria's 
accession into the EU and undermining the current government. 
 Beyrle said such talk was not helpful in the absence of any 
supporting evidence, and Hill pointed out that Kyulev's past 
was itself "doubtful." 
 
7. (C) Kalfin asked specifically for U.S. support in four 
areas: 
-- Our assessment of forthcoming draft legislation aimed at 
giving police and prosecutors more power to fight organized 
crime. 
-- Operational cooperation aimed at heroin trafficking 
through Bulgaria. 
-- Unspecified "special equipment" for criminal 
investigations. 
-- Increased cooperation and coordination between the 
Bulgarian intelligence and law enforcement services and their 
U.S. counterparts.  "It is your choice which service you work 
with," Kalfin said, "but we really need your help and 
assistance." 
 
Beyrle assured Kalfin that the U.S. stands ready to help 
Bulgaria.  Embassy Sofia's Legal Attache met subsequently 
with the Chief Secretary of the Interior Ministry to discuss 
specifics. 
8. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. 
 
 
BEYRLE