James Warlick, the new US Ambassador to Bulgaria, has chosen to visit the south eastern town of Kardzhali on his first official trip outside the capital Sofia.

Warlick explained his decision by stating that, for him, Kardzhali was a positive symbol of inter-ethnic dialog.

"This is my first official trip outside of Sofia, and I randomly chose to come to Kardjali. I wanted to see Kardzhali because I knew that the city is a symbol of inter-ethnic and inter-cultural dialog. I discovered that the Mayor has a great vision and plans for its development," the diplomat said on Friday.

Following a long meeting with Hasan Azis, the Mayor, Ambassador Warlick was enthusiastic in his appreciation of the projects and ideas for expansion of the town.

"I think the results will be the strengthening of trade and economic relations with neighboring Greece and Turkey. This will greatly benefit not only the citizens of Kardzhali, but also people from the other regions," said Warlick.

According to his assessment, "in Kardzhali there is a strategic thinking with a look ahead", but he declined to commit himself to any particular attraction of U.S. investments.

Commenting on the current economic state of the region, and on Greece and Turkey in particular, he said that "not only Greece and Turkey, as your neighbors, but the entire European Union and the United States are experiencing the severe economic crisis.

These are indeed difficult times, including for America, where unemployment is above 10%. However, there is light at the tunnel, improvements will occur even though this happens slowly. It is difficult for people who have lost their jobs, but we believe that Bulgaria will soon emerge from the recession and will start economic growth".

The US Ambassador also offered his observations on local ethnic attitudes, stating that "I am not an expert on Greece and Turkey, but I can say that in those regions close to you, there was previously a history of inter-ethnic tensions. So, you should be proud that Kardjali is an operating model of ethnic balance and management of ethnic tensions and crises. Kardjali can serve as a model for neighboring countries", the Ambassador concluded.

In response to a question regarding former NATO General Secretary George Robertson’s view that the NATO future of Russia is inevitable, the Ambassador said: "What we want is to see is better cooperation between Russia and NATO. And yesterday, our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed that we want to enhance and strengthen the agreement between NATO and Russia. From here on, you are going to hear more often, both from Washington and from Brussels, news about the deepening and strengthening of this cooperation. And this is not only the viewpoint of the United States but of all NATO member states."

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