Warlick: No one wants to harm Bulgaria

The US Ambassador in Sofia, James Warlick, stresses that if he was a Bulgarian, he would want to know if his country has shale gas deposits and of what quality. The diplomat spoke in an interview for TV7, aired Saturday, and just on the heels of the visits of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and of US Energy Envoy for Eurasia Richard Morningstar to Sofia. One of the topics on the agenda of both talks was the recent moratorium on exploration of shale gas by the US company Chevron, imposed by the Bulgarian Parliament. Warlick believes that the issue had been addressed too emotionally in Bulgaria, leading to street protests that made local authorities change their mind on Chevron's activities. He stressed the need of a 100%-span discussion among the public in Bulgaria, before any final decision is made. The Ambassador was critical to Chevron, saying they arrived in Bulgaria somewhat unprepared and failed to offer enough information on shale gas to Bulgarians. "No one wants to harm the environment and Bulgaria is an extremely beautiful country. In any way, the company does not have intentions to begin exploring shale gas before 2015 – we are talking about a future period," the diplomat told the host. Warlick further voiced the opinion that Bulgaria has become a leader in Europe regarding nuclear energy. When asked about lifting the visa regime for Bulgarians traveling to the US, he replied that if it was to him to decide he would eliminate visas ASAP, but stressed that the Embassy is now issuing 10-year visas and assured that one day in the near future visas will become a thing of the past.