Georgi_Ananiev_+_William_Cohen_+_Nadezhda_Mihailova
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Secretary of Defense William Cohen, flanked by Minister of Defense Georgi Ananiev (left) and Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova (right), makes a statement to representatives of the news media in Sofia, Bulgaria. The July 13,1997, press availability was held at Boyana Residence, a government conference center, following a luncheon hosted for Cohen and his delegation by Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov. Bulgaria has declared its desire for NATO membership, but was not realistically considered to be among the front runners for inclusion when the first invitations were issued to former Soviet satellite nations at the recently completed NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. Secretary Cohen, however, strongly praised the direction being taken by the young, vibrant, Bulgarian Government, and said that if the reforms and modernization continue, he could see Bulgaria as a front runner for the next round of invitations, expected to be issued sometime around the turn of the century. DoD photo by R. D. Ward.
