Bulgarian parliament will discuss any missile defense system proposal

Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov

Speaking at the parliament’s question-and-answer session, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said the parliament will discuss any proposal about a missile defense system, FOCUS News Agency reported.

Factbox: Current Sanctions on Iran over Nuclear Program

In the following article you can find a list of international sanctions on Iran. So far sanctions have proven to be inefficient in preventing Iran from continuing to work on its nuclear weapon program. Sanctions are also difficult to monitor and enforce, further hampering their effectiveness at this stage of Iran’s program.

Iran, Brazil and Turkey signed a nuclear fuel swap agreement on Monday designed to allay international concern over the Islamic Republic’s atomic ambitions and avert fresh U.N. sanctions against Tehran.

Following are some details of the sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States, European Union and United Nations:

Iran Ready for Nuclear Talks with EU’s Ashton

As the Administration is gathering support for the fourth round of United Nations sanctions for Iran, the country itself declared its willingness to hold talks with the European Union’s foreign policy chief over its controversial nuclear program.

Iran is willing to hold talks with the European Union’s foreign policy chief over its disputed nuclear activities, a senior official said on Tuesday, after the bloc’s top diplomat spoke of new sanctions against Tehran.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday extra sanctions could be adopted quickly, but that the EU was open to more talks with Iran if it showed it really wanted them.

Joint Statement on the U.S. and Poland Bilateral Strategic Dialogue

The United States and Poland have agreed to re-introduce the bilateral Strategic Dialogue.  This dialogue serves as a step towards continued international cooperation between the two countries. The dialogue specifically is a forum for  to discuss issues of mutual importance.

Today the Governments of the United States and the Republic of Poland have agreed to re-launch our bilateral Strategic Dialogue, a forum for consultation and cooperation on global and regional issues of mutual interest to both our countries.

The Case for Western Missile Defense

This article, written by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, discusses with the significance of the upcoming signing of the START treaty by Russia and the United States and how nuclear weapons are now becoming more of a threat. It also talks about Iran becoming an increasing threat and the significance of having missile defense in order to protect the world we live in.

Next week in Prague, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and US president Barack Obama will sign a new strategic arms reduction treaty (Start). That agreement is an historic achievement, and an inspiration for further progress in global arms control. But at the same time, here and now, we must also prepare to defend against another, less encouraging trend.

Czech Foreign Minister says NATO Should Reassess Missions

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, left

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said in an interview that NATO should reassess its deployment of troops around the world and return to territorial defense. While he praised the new U.S. missile defense plan in Europe he also made it clear that a command post would not be established in the Czech Republic.

NATO should reassess the deployment of missions in the world and return to territorial defense, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said in an interview for yesteday’s issue of daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung ahead of his working visit to Berlin on Thursday.

Kohout said the concept of coping with present-time threats of terrorism and cyber attacks that NATO wants to present this year should rather aim at strenthening territorial integrity of the member states and their solidarity.

“We should also take a different attitude to the ‘expedition missions’ of NATO that have been its main activity over the past ten years. We should return to the roots of NATO, that is territorial defense,” Kohout said.

U.S. Will Use Banks to Thwart Iran Nukes

The Administration will be tightening the restrictions around Iranian banks in favor of an aerial bombing campaign against Iranian Nuclear facilities. A White House staffer was quoted as saying “even as we move toward the pressure track, the door to engagement is still open.” It would seem this move is intended to drive Tehran back to negotiations about restricting its nuclear development.

The Obama administration, having failed in its first year to reach an entente with Iran, will toughen U.S. policy by applying unprecedented pressures on that regime as it continues its quest to become a nuclear power.

Nonetheless, President Obama for now is ruling out an aerial bombing campaign against Iranian nuclear facilities and is choosing instead to further isolate Iran from the international financial system.

The first target likely will be Iran’s banks. Building on steps taken during the second term of the George W. Bush presidency, the Treasury Department likely will designate Iran’s central bank as a terrorist-supporting entity.

Moldovan Rebels Offer to Host Russian Missiles

Moldova's Rebel Region of Transdniestria

A Soviet protectorate offers offensive missile sites to Russia in response to Romania’s potential cooperation with US missile defense plan in Europe. This is a blatantly opportunistic grab at Russian support by rebel leadership in Transdniestria. This development does highlight the growing tensions between Moscow and Washington in regards to post-START negotiations.

Moldova’s rebel region of Transdniestria said on Monday it was ready to host Russian tactical missiles if the Kremlin were to ask, escalating growing tensions about defense between Moscow and Washington.

NATO and European Union member Romania, which borders Moldova, this month approved a U.S. plan to deploy interceptor missiles which Washington says aims to defend against current and emerging ballistic missile threats from Iran.

It prompted calls for clarification from Russia’s foreign ministry, which said it was concerned.