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Document No. 113: Bulgarian Memorandum on the Bulgarian–Romanian Proposal for a Chemical WeaponsFree Zone in the Balkans, March 21, 1986 ——————————————————————————————————————————— This Bulgarian document refers to a proposal by Bulgaria and Romania to create a nuclear-free zone in the Balkans. It shows that by this time the Soviets came to regard such initiatives by their allies not only as acceptable but consistent with their own goals. This particular proposal met with a reserved response from Turkey and, not surprisingly , Albania. Greece, and especially Yugoslavia, were more positive in their reactions. ____________________ MEMORANDUM At the initiative of the Bulgarian side, talks between the foreign ministers of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, Petar Mladenov, and of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Ilie Vaduva, were held on March 19, 1986, in Warsaw, where views were exchanged regarding the work accomplished on the Bulgarian–Romanian initiative to turn the Balkans into a chemical weapons-free zone. The Romanian minister informed that, in compliance with the agreements between Comrade Todor Zhivkov and Comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu, the Romanian side has submitted a Declaration-Appeal to all Balkan states. The governments of Turkey, Yugoslavia and Albania have sent a written response. Greece has replied verbally on behalf of [Prime Minister Andreas] Papandreou to the Romanian ambassador in Athens. Vaduva expressed his personal opinion that the Greek side had intended to submit a written reply during Papandreou’s delayed visit to Bucharest. The replies received differ substantially. Turkey has some reservations about the proposal. So does Albania. However, Yugoslavia and Greece appreciate the initiative and would readily participate in taking the next steps. Turkey’s reservations center on the point that problems like this can be resolved only on a global scale. Albania has declared that the country possesses no chemical weapons and has no intentions to produce or store any on its territory. Moreover, problems of this kind can be solved only within the framework of Europe. Yugoslavia has a similar position, connecting this idea with the progress of the Geneva talks. Vaduva stated that the document has been submitted to Geneva, Stockholm and about 35 other states. Most of the countries have assessed the proposal in a positive way. They regard it as a contribution to the abolition of chemical weapons. Vaduva informed that Comrade Ceaușescu pays special attention to the responses coming from these countries. There is a common feature in that no Balkan country has in its possession, or would like to be the recipient of, chemical weapons. Upon receiving a written response from Greece, we could come to an agreement on the next steps. After expressing thanks for the information, Cde. Petar Mladenov qualified the replies of the different states as an expression of their positive attitude towards this 526 idea. Most of the governments, the public and other organizations support the proposal . It was unanimously supported here at the session of the Warsaw Pact Committee of Foreign Ministers. This initiative falls within the scope of our joint peace program. Comrade Mladenov emphasized that he would personally inform Comrade Todor Zhivkov on the progress of the work, and asked Vaduva to tell Comrade Ceau- șescu that Comrade Zhivkov is closely observing this matter in person. Making a comment on the information available, Cde. Mladenov stressed that we had not expected an immediate positive solution to this issue. We have some experience from our work on establishing a nuclear-free zone in the Balkans. Turkey’s position is not a surprise—this is NATO’s position. This, however, should not be an obstacle that will delay our future activities. Albania has sent a reply. Greece was the first to respond positively. The dissemination of the document in the United Nations and through other channels is a good representation for us. It is obvious that wearenotonlymakingthisideapopular,butwearealsocontributingtoitsclarification and realization. What should we do next? We need to go on with the preparatory work. It is hardly necessary to discuss a high-level meeting at the moment; however, we are making a proposal to hold a meeting with government experts from the Balkan states. Those who wish will participate. If a country does not send experts, nothing serious has happened . We would like to make that clear. We do not imagine this zone without Turkey. The situation with Albania is different, though. To conduct a session to discuss the idea is something we can do and we should do, even if someone does not participate. It would be good if...

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