Security News on the Region
Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in Montenegro?

STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING BRIEFER: SEAN MCCORMACK, WASHINGTON, D.C. TIME:
12:32 P.M. EST DATE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2008

Lambros (Papantoniou), happy new year to you.

Q: Happy new year to all of you. Thank you very much. In the Balkans, any readout of the today’s meeting between
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ivailo Kalfin?
minister?

MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Well, you heard from them. They talked a
little bit upstairs about some of their discussions, but they talked
about Kosovo, they talked about the Balkans, they talked about U.S.-
Bulgarian ties. They talked a little bit about Iraq and Afghanistan
and the efforts that the Bulgarians have under way in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The secretary thanked them for that. Talked a little
bit about the upcoming NATO ministerial as well as the NATO summit in which they will address issues related to NATO's future as well as
NATO membership. And that's really sort of the long and short of it.

Q: Can you be more specific on Kosovo? What did they say
approximately?

MR. MCCORMACK: Approximately, they talked about the state of
play and the way forward.

Q: Okay. The next question is, according to reports, Russian
fleet including one aircraft carrier will be off the coast of
Montenegro this coming Sunday, January 6th, in order, as they say, to
face any Kosovo crisis using 57 war planes via the Montenegro air
space. Any comment, Mr. McCormack, since there are in Kosovo 1,600 U.S. troops and 17.000 NATO troops?

MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not aware of those reports, Lambros.