Eurasia Press & News
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov in Washington, DC, Tuesday night.
On part of the Obama Administration, Clinton has pledged American support for Bulgaria’s actions in fighting corruption and organized crime, and reforming the judiciary, Mladenov announced after the meeting as cited by BNR.
“Bulgaria is not just our ally within NATO and member of EU, it is also a close partner with respect to the great challenges and opportunities that we are facing together. “I am impressed with the good understanding of Minister Mladenov and the Bulgarian government of those,” US Secretary of State Clinton is quoted as saying.
Major topics of the Clinton-Mladenov meeting focused on the situation in the Balkans and the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, where Bulgaria has 600 troops.
Mladenov has explicitly thanked the USA for backing with NATO the adoption of a Membership Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he believes creates new opportunities for the entire region.
The US State Secretary has received the Bulgarian Foreign Minister just ahead of her tour of the Western Balkans on October 11-14 when she will be visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Kosovo.
After the Western Balkans tour, Clinton will take part in a NATO forum in Brussels, and will meet with the President of the EU Council Herman Van Rompuy and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton.
