s in Sofia and other major cities. Most shops, hotels, and restaurants, with the exception of major hotels, still do not accept travelers checks or credit cards. Due to the potential of fraud and other criminal activity credit cards and ATMs should be used with caution. On July 5 1999, the Lev was re-denominated at a rate of 1,000 old Leva to one new Lev.BULGARIA AND NATO: LETTING NATO FORCES USE BULGARIAN TERRITORYIn Sofia (March 29, 2001), Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mikhailova said on Thursday an agreement with NATO now before parliament would allow alliance forces to use Bulgarian territory in the event on a Balkan crisis.The government has asked parliament to ratify the agreement, which was signed in Brussels last week. Ratification is expected on Friday or early next week. The text of the agreement and an accompanying note from the government say Bulgaria would allow NATO forces taking part in operations to secure peace in the Balkans to use its land, air and sea space. Western diplomats say that quick expansion of NATO is unlikely, adding that states like Bulgaria has first to reform their armies and prove themselves in regional cooperation.THE BALKAN PROBLEM IN BULGARIABulgarias President Peter Stoyanov said on March 31, 2001 that recasting Balkan borders along ethic lines would be disastrous for the volatile region. Redrawing borders in the Balkans in search of an identity for newly formed States based on ethnic or religious homogeneity threatens to destroy the very foundation of European civilization, Stoyanov told at a conference in Sofia.His comments came after respected Balkans watchdog the International Crisis Group said that the West should stop trying to prevent the break-up of what remains of the former Yugoslavia. Western powers fear the break-up of federal Yugoslavia could fuel ethnic violence and trigger demands for more border changes in the region where a large ethnics Albanian community straddles several ...
