Bulgaria's foreign policy has three major geographic areas of focus, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an exclusive interview.

Mladenov has emphasized that the Western Balkans, the Black Sea Region, and the Middle East are the three priority regions for the Bulgarian diplomatic corps under his leadership.

"There are three geographic areas of focus of Bulgaria's foreign policy. One is the Western Balkans. These are our immediate neighbors in the Western Balkans because whatever happens there affects our security, economy, and the perception of the region, so Bulgaria has a strong national interest to see that they have a European perspective, and become part of the EU, and those who wish – part of NATO as well...Second is the Black Sea region because it affects Bulgaria's energy resources and security," Bulgaria's Foreign Minister said.

He stressed that Russia will always be a strong partner for Bulgaria because of energy issues, and that Bulgaria's efforts to diversify its energy resources is not aimed against Russia but could in fact be beneficial to the Bulgarian-Russian relations because if Russia does not have a monopoly status as an energy supplier this will remove from it any suspicions that it seeks to use its energy resources to wield geopolitical influence in Bulgaria.

"Last but not least, are the Mediterranean and the Middle East and North Africa. This is a part of the world where Bulgaria has traditionally had a very strong presence, and which I want to revive because I think it offers great opportunities," Mladenov told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).

As far as Turkey, a rising regional power, is concerned, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister stressed that both Bulgaria and Turkey enjoy countless benefits to having a "very good and strong relationship", and that he does not share concerns about the alleged so called neo-Ottomanism in Turkey's current foreign policy.

"I would leave history and the Ottoman Empire to the historians because whether in the best days or worst days of the Ottoman Empire nobody could've even fathomed the concept that you could have a united Europe. If this united Europe now includes Bulgaria, then soon it will include other countries in the Balkans, I hope. This is a community that is based on rules, regulations, and values; on things that we now take for granted, and no one in the Ottoman Empire could have imagined that this will one day be the case," Mladenov said.

He has argued that the fact that Bulgaria is a member of the EU and NATO extends the political power or projection that it has on global affairs; not just providing it with a level of protection but giving Bulgaria more leverage than it otherwise would have had.

"Call it what you will, but this is the foreign policy of a grown-up country in the European Union," Mladenov stated.

Full Text of Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov's interview for Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in which he also comments on Bulgaria's ties with the USA, Russia, China, Brazil, and the future of NATO and the EU, among other issues, READ HERE

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