Page 634 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

634 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

Meanwhile, the intelligence exchange about the larger NATO exercises continued to exist.
For instance, in 1989 GRU chiefs sent to Sofia about 150 intelligence reviews, part of them
on WINTEX, AUTUMN FORGE, and DISPLAY DETERMINATION exercises. However,
during the MI chiefs meeting in Bucharest in early June 1990 Col.-Gen. Vasil Zikulov ad-
dressed a request to his Hungarian counterpart, Maj.-Gen. Janos Kovacz for dismantling of
Bulgarian R-369 radio-electronic station at Dunaújváros because of “technical failure” (the
29
station did not worked for more than four months) . This was, of course, the final episode
of the radio-electronic bilateral collaboration of Bulgarian and Hungarian MI services in the
Cold war years.
The last ever intelligence summary from the Intelligence Department of Odessa Military
District about NATO maneuvers in Southern European War Theater was received on 3 No-
vember 1990. In December 1990 the new chief of Bulgarian General Staff, Col.-Gen. Rad-
nyu Minchev approved a plan for bilateral cooperation with the Soviet MI services for 1992,
which included a proposed visit in Bulgaria of a MI radio-electronic group of 10-15 service-
men from Odessa Military District for reconnaissance of the forthcoming NATO exercises
30
in the region ; however, after the Warsaw Pact dissolution all such bilateral agreements
were reconsidered and finally canceled. Summarized surveys on “military preparation and
readiness” of Greek, Turkish, and NATO armed forces were published inside the top secret
Bulgarian MI Information Bulletin for distribution to MoD, General Staff and Armed Forces
main departments in about 50 to 100 copies until the end of 1991.
Less than six months after the dissolution of the Warsaw Treaty Organization NATO
member states proposed to their former adversaries to form a joint North Atlantic Coopera-
tion Council (NACC). In the spring of 1992 two “unprecedented events” happened, as quali-
fied by NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner – joint meetings of Defense Ministers
and General Staffs Chiefs of both NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries. Meanwhile, in
December 1991 – January 1992 Bulgaria signed military agreements for “confident building
measures” with Turkey and Greece. Several months after joining “Partnership for Peace”
initiative in July 1994 Bulgaria organized the first post-Cold War large multinational Naval
exercise in the Black Sea area (BREEZE-94), and a year later – a NATO led multinational
exercise COOPERATIVE PARTNER-95. Within the next few years (1994-2000) Bulgarian
Armed Forces took part in 137 NATO/PfP multinational exercises and other training activi-
ties, some of them on Bulgarian territory. It is a matter under consideration did ever Bulgari-
an or other Central-Eastern European military tried to used their knowledge of NATO former
exercises in their way to reach the effective interoperability with the NATO forces and finally
to join the Alliance. However, as a historical paradox, that sensitive intelligence information,
acquired by the Warsaw Pact MI services, could be used as a new valuable source for NATO
own history in the Cold War era.

29 COMDOS, VR, MF 01517, A.E. 1687, p. 19.
30 Ibid., p. 46-48.