Remarks With Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov After Their Meeting
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Council of Ministers
Sofia, Bulgaria
February 5, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, it’s an honor to be back in this beautiful country and to have a
chance to demonstrate the very strong partnership and friendship between
the United States and Bulgaria. I promised the people of Bulgaria that
the United States will stand with you, and we have done so. And we are
very impressed and proud of the extraordinary progress that has been
made and the strong relationship between the Bulgarian and American
people and governments.
I would like to thank the prime minister for receiving me today and
for the excellent discussions that our two teams have just concluded. I
also want to thank the president, whom I met earlier, and the foreign
minister, with whom I work on a regular basis throughout the year.
The prime minister and I just had a very productive meeting. It
underscored the depth and range of the partnership between us. As NATO
allies, Bulgaria and the United States work side by side around the
world to address critical issues, from ensuring a successful transition
in Afghanistan to keeping the peace in Kosovo, to diversifying and
securing our energy supplies, including in the nuclear sector. We are
partners in helping to advance Bulgaria’s energy independence and
security and in protecting the beautiful Bulgarian environment.
When we demonstrate that technologies are safe, we pursue both goals
at once, and we will stand with the Bulgarian people and government as
they work to be able to provide affordable energy that meets your needs.
I will be sending my special envoy for Eurasian Energy, Ambassador
Richard Morningstar, to Bulgaria this week to have expert conversations
about how we can be more helpful in protecting your environment and
advancing your energy security goals.
Our excellent cooperation has helped to deter, detect, and stop
trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials. Our joint
counter-narcotic investigations have seized over $3 million in illegal
assets. Our law enforcement partnership has led to the arrest of actors
conducting international fraud schemes. I want to commend the law
enforcement – (inaudible) as well as the government itself – for being a
very effective leader in these kinds of efforts, addressing critical
problems that affects not just Bulgaria and the region but indeed the
world.
Bulgaria’s experience transitioning from communism to democracy,
setting up effective institutions and persevering over the last 20 years
provides many useful lessons. All one has to do is look at statistics –
the lowest unemployment rates, lowest taxation rates, increasing
international investment, including American investment. The social and
economic development of the country stands as a great model not only
within Europe but increasingly abroad to countries attempting to make
the transition from authoritarianism and dictatorial rule to democracy
and rule by the people.
Bulgaria has taken several steps in the last few years to combat
corruption, pursue judicial reform, and uphold the rule of law for all
citizens. These are very important steps for any democracy, and it will
help Bulgaria continue to strengthen your democratic institutions. The
Sofia Platform, which will meet for the third time later this year, is
an excellent vehicle for sharing the lessons that you have learned
throughout Central Europe and the Middle East. And we thank Bulgaria,
thank you, Prime Minister, for your leadership in this area.
Bulgaria has just recently joined the Open Government Partnership
that was started by President Obama and is co-chaired with the
Brazilians. We will look forward to working with Bulgaria as you
implement your action plan to improve government transparency and
accountability and also pursue the potential use of e-government, which
we are finding around the world is a great tool for bringing government
closer to the people. And I think the president told me earlier that 2.2
million Bulgarians are on Facebook, so the technology is already
present and putting it to use on behalf of better governance will be one
of the issues we discuss when the Open Government Partnership meets in
Brasilia later this spring.
I will be also meeting with a group of young Roma leaders and
activists, and I applaud the Government of Bulgaria for the important
Roma integration strategy, an important step toward full integration of
your Roma people.
The relationship between our two countries is broad and deep. Now,
President Obama and I are committed to working with the prime minister,
the president, the Government of Bulgaria, and the people in making it
even stronger and deeper in the years ahead. So it’s a great pleasure to
be here, to see for myself even with this short visit the extraordinary
progress that you are making. We will continue to stand with you as you
move on the path of democracy to consolidate the gains that brought so
many benefits to Bulgaria, and we will face together the challenges and
opportunities of the 21st century.
Thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (In Bulgarian.)
QUESTION: (In Bulgarian.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first let me say how committed the
United States is to Bulgaria’s security. We are NATO allies. We take
very seriously our Article 5 obligation for collective defense. Bulgaria
has been an important, productive partner of NATO, and I did tell the
prime minister that Bulgarian troops serving in Afghanistan have a
well-deserved reputation for professionalism and bravery. I want to
extend condolences for the loss of life and casualties that the
Bulgarian troops have suffered.
With respect to security cooperation going forward, we want to make
sure that we consult closely with our Bulgarian friends about how the
United States and Bulgaria bilaterally and through NATO will make sure
that Europe has the best defense in terms of missile defense and other
capabilities in order to protect Bulgaria and all of our European
allies.
I think that there will be a number of joint military exercises
between the United States and Bulgaria this year. We are looking to
expand our military cooperation and to do a thorough review about where
it stands today and where it needs to be going in the future. I cannot
prejudge that review, but the overriding issue for us is that Bulgaria
has proven to be a very capable partner for whom we have the greatest
respect and to whom we owe our NATO responsibility of providing defense.
And we are absolutely committed to (inaudible).
I think we’ve got an American question from Lachlan Carmichael.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.) First, now that the Russians have
vetoed the resolution on Syria, what’s the next step? The Syrians are
calling for a coalition of support. What do you say to that? And then,
of course, on Bulgaria, why is it so important that a country like
Bulgaria be economically and politically independent from Russia?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, do you want me to go first, Prime
Minister? Let me start with Syria. Let me begin by saying that Bulgaria,
as you just heard the prime minister express, has been very supportive
of the aspirations and rights of the Syrian people, and we are grateful
for that.
What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty. Those
countries that refuse to support the Arab League plan bear full
responsibly for protecting the brutal regime in Damascus. And it is
tragic that after all the work that the Security Council did, they had a
13-2 vote.
The 13 of us voting in favor of the Arab League plan were primed to
start a process for political engagement that will lead to a transition.
We fear that the failure to do so will actually increase the chances
for a brutal civil war. Many Syrians, under attack from their own
government, are moving to defend themselves, which is to be expected.
So what do we do? Well, faced with a neutered Security Council, we
have to redouble our efforts outside of the United Nations with those
allies and partners who support the Syrian people’s right to have a
better future. We have to increase diplomatic pressure on the Assad
regime and work to convince those people around President Assad that he
must go, and that there has to be a recognition of that and a new start
to try to form a government that will represent all of the people of
Syria.
We will work to seek regional and national sanctions against Syria
and strengthen the ones we have. They will be implemented to the fullest
to dry up the sources of funding and the arms shipments that are
keeping the regime’s war machine going. We will work to expose those who
are still are funding the regime and sending them weapons that are used
against defenseless Syrians, including women and children. And we will
work with the friends of a democratic Syria around the world to support
the opposition’s peaceful political plans for change. We will work to
provide what humanitarian relief we are able to do so.
And over the coming days, I will be consulting closely with our
allies and partners in Europe, in the Arab League, and around the world.
Because remember, in those 13 votes you had not only Europeans, but you
have Arabs, Africans, Latin Americans, South Asians. This was a unified
international community seeking an end to the violence. So we will
consult – be consulting with the foreign minister here and others –
about what we can do to rescue this deteriorating situation before it's
too late.
Do you want to say anything about Syria?
PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: (In Bulgarian.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.
