The Minister of Finance, Milen Velchev, intends to present to the
Council of Ministers detailed damage scenarios based on a hike in the
price of oil to $40 per barrel and a 3-4 months long confrontation. He
admitted to the Bulgarian National Radio that inflation is likely to
increase by at least 1-1.5 percentage points.
The daily cost of a single 150-member biological and chemical defense
unit stationed in the Gulf would amount to $15,000, or c. $500,000 per
month, said the Bulgarian news agency, BTA. The Minister of Defense,
Nikolai Svinarov, told the Cabinet that he expects "maximum (American)
funding and logistical support" for the Bulgarian troops. The United
States intends to base c. 400 soldiers-technicians and 18 planes on the
country's soil and will pay for making use of the infrastructure, as
they have done during operation "Enduring Freedom" (the war in
Afghanistan).
Bulgaria stands to benefit in other ways. The country's Deputy Foreign
Minister, Lyubomir Ivanov, confirmed in another radio interview that
the Americans pledged that Iraqi debts to Bulgaria will be fully paid.
This can amount to dozens of millions of US dollars in fresh money.
Is this Bulgaria's price? Unlikely. Bulgaria, like the other countries
of the region, regards America as the first among equals in NATO.
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