The United States does not press the Bulgaria government into a quick decision on whether to host Guantanamo Bay detainees, a Bulgarian official said on Tuesday.

“No deadlines have been set for Bulgaria's decision whether to accept detainees from the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after a request from Washington to house prisoners,“ Zhivko Todorov, member of the ruling GERB party and deputy head of the parliamentary foreign policy commission, said on Tuesday.

Bulgaria's prime minister said last week that the country could accept one prisoner from Guantanamo following calls from Washington to take in detainees from the US prison in Cuba.  Boyko Borisov told reporters that taking in an inmate would be a strong gesture of cooperation between Europe and the US.

Bulgarian officials however have cautioned that Bulgaria's participation would be small, and people who might pose a threat to national security would be not accepted.

The transfer of prisoners is part of a drive by US President Barack Obama to close the widely criticized jail set up by his predecessor, George Bush, to house suspected militants captured abroad.

Obama had promised to shut down the facility within a year of taking office but, because of diplomatic and political obstacles, there are still more than 200 inmates who need to be relocated.

Earlier this month, the French Foreign Ministry said two detainees at Guantanamo were sent to France and to Hungary. Overall, however, the international response to US requests for inmate hosting has been muted.