Bulgarian officials have said the planned disposal of the country’s SS-23 missiles should occur outside the country, 24 Chasa reported Wednesday (see GSN, Dec. 19, 2001).

“I very much doubt that the destruction of the missiles could be done in Bulgaria,” Defense Minister Nikolay Svinarov said at the end of last year.

Disposal of SS-23 rocket fuel and warheads would be the most difficult part of the scrapping operation, said Gen. Vulcho Fotev, former chief of the Bulgarian missile and artillery force.  Initial plans to destroy the warheads within Bulgaria have been abandoned for the time being, according to 24 Chasa.  The best way to destroy the warheads would be to send them back to Russia where they were made, some military experts said.

It would be impossible to destroy the SS-23s’ rocket fuel within Bulgaria, senior officials have said.  They added the United States wants to dispose of the rocket fuel itself for two reasons:  a trust issue and the lack of a proper facility within Bulgaria.  There is a suitable facility for fuel disposal in Romania, but it is unlikely the United States would agree to allow the fuel to be shipped there, said some former missile service officers.

Some military experts, however, said they think the SS-23s should be scrapped within Bulgaria.  One issue of concern is obtaining Russian approval to transport the missiles to a third country, as needed under the original purchase contract.  Russia would be unlikely to approve because of the unique stealth coating on the missiles, a Bulgarian General Staff source said (Sofia 24 Chasa, Jan. 16 in FBIS-EEU, Jan. 16). 

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