Bulgraian President Rosen Plevneliev addresses Chatham House

Bulgraian President Rosen Plevneliev addresses Chatham House; ENGLAND: London: Chatham House: INT Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev sat on stage with Channel 4 News journalist Matt Frei and talking SOT Rosen Plevneliev (President of Bulgaria) speech SOT - My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for the opportunity to speak at one of the most respected global organizations specialized in the study and better public understanding of international affairs. As most of you are well aware, the Balkans have traditionally been an arena of hostilities and tension. One hundred years ago, a shot fired in Sarajevo triggered the First World War. To the best of my knowledge, it is that carnage, inter alia, which motivated some of the best and brightest minds in London to establish a prestigious academic institution like the Royal Institute of International affairs in an effort to rethink war and find ways to prevent it in future. Today, southeastern Europe is on the right track towards stable peace and gradually increasing prosperity. The launch of this change would have been impossible during the Cold War. Until twenty-five years the then military doctrine of the Bulgarian Communist regime identified Greece and Turkey as the biggest threat to my country. When I was in the army, I was told every day: ‘Soldier, remember well: Greece, Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom are our worst enemies.’ Today Bulgaria and the UK are trusted partners and allies. We are part of a family of common values. Today Greece and Turkey are our good neighbours and allies. Ten days ago Professor [Ahmet] Davutoglu, the foreign minister of Turkey, was my guest. He then recognized that ten years after the announcement of his ambitious ‘Zero problem policy’, there is one neighbouring country with which Turkey has zero problems, and that is Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s current relations with Romania and Serbia have neve...