Bulgaria presses Bush on missile shield

Bulgaria presses Bush on missile shield

The issue has contributed to raised tensions between the U.S. and Russia.

Bulgaria feels caught in the middle. It was the most loyal Soviet ally during the Cold War, and even now is almost entirely dependent on Russian energy supplies.

"Bulgaria should not have to choose between the friendship between the U.S. and the friendship with Russia," Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said.

Bush stressed the strength of U.S. relations with Bulgaria, which shed communism in 1989, became a member of NATO in 2004 and the European Union in January.

Thousands of Bulgarians lined the cobblestoned main street through Nevsky Square as an honor guard played both countries' national anthems.

On a sunny, cool morning, Bush and Parvanov walked past a line of Bulgarian troops wearing white coats trimmed in red, and navy pants tucked into high black boots. After goose-stepping to upbeat military music, Bush prayed before a wreath at the eternal flame that marks Bulgaria's monument to an unknown soldier.

Bush greeted Bulgarian soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then worked the crowd, reaching in to shake hands as the locals beamed and cheered. The Bulgarian parliament recently extended the Iraq mission until March 2008, and last year, Bulgaria signed an agreement with Washington allowing U.S. troops to use Bulgarian military facilities.

"I call him George, and he calls me George," Bush joked about the two leaders sharing the same first name.

The president said that during his talks, Bulgaria's leaders appealed for U.S. help in freeing five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya for allegedly infecting hundreds of children with the AIDS virus.

The EU and the U.S. repeatedly have urged Libyan authorities to release the six, who have been in Libyan custody since 1999. They are accused of deliberately infecting about 400 children with HIV at a hospital in Benghazi. All six deny the charge.

"We will continue to make clear to Libya that the release of these nurses is a high priority for our country," Bush said.

Parvanov characterized the U.S.-Bulgaria relationship as "thriving within the framework of NATO."

He said the two leaders discussed issues in the Balkans, prospects for more U.S. commitments for energy projects in Bulgaria and the U.S. visa waiver program.

Bush's visit to Sofia is the final leg of his eight-day European tour.

The tour has taken the U.S. president to the summit of G8 leaders in Germany, as well as the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and Albania.