Hillary Clinton's Bulgaria Visit Was Routine - Foreign Minister
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Sunday visit to Bulgaria was not urgent but routine, according to Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov.
"The visit was planned a long time ago. It is a common practice of the US State Department to confirm such visits a week before they take place," Mladenov explained in an interview for the Btv private channel.
Mladenov confirmed that the potential abolishment of Bulgaria's US visas has been discussed during Clinton's visit, even though the Balkan country has already missed a major opportunity for that.
Bulgaria now has a serious of technical issues to cope with in order to be included in the US Visa Waiver program, the Foreign Minister pointed out.
Upon asked about Chevron's potential shale gas research and extraction in northeastern Bulgaria, Mladenov reiterated that an environmentally safe technology is indeed deemed necessary by the government.
On Sunday, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to protect the environment in pursuing their energy policies.
Energy was high on the agenda in Clinton's meeting with the Bulgarian PM and key cabinet ministers, and Clinton herself made it clear that Bulgaria is a key part of the US's energy strategy.