Contention over the destruction of Bulgaria's Soviet-era missiles continued to increase over the past week.

At the background of continuing protests from civil organisations concerned with the environmental impact of the destruction, a statement by Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov caused an exchange of statements and visits between Bulgarian officials and US diplomats.

Svinarov said last Wednesday that if there were a delay on the implementation of the decommissioning of the SS-23, Scud and Frog missiles, it would not be Bulgaria's fault. "We are waiting for the company described in the memorandum to do its job, sign agreements with subcontractors, provide the necessary technological components and proceed with the destruction operations," he said.

A declaration passed by Parliament in mid-June in approval of the planned missile destruction advised the Government to complete the operation by October 30, 2002, ahead of the crucial NATO summit in Prague in November 2002 where Bulgaria hopes to receive a membership invitation.

Svinarov said he has no doubts that Bulgaria will destroy the missiles but would not commit to deadlines explaining that the schedule is contingent on technological factors and October 30 is only an advisory deadline for the destruction.

He also said he believed that Bulgaria's readiness to destroy the missiles, and the start of the procedure itself, is a strong argument in favour of the country's admission to NATO.

Svinarov's statement prompted US ambassador to Bulgaria James Pardew to warn that the destruction of the missiles would be a key requirement for Washington's support for the Bulgarian NATO membership bid.

In an interview with the Panorama weekly political programme of the Bulgarian National Television on Friday, Pardew said he was convinced the Bulgarian Government would meet its commitment to destroy the SS-23 missiles. He also said he did not see any reason for a delay in the destruction.

On Monday, the Ministry of Environment and Waters issued a statement saying that the ministry would conduct a thorough examination of the environmental impact of decommissioning the missiles. Checks will be carried out prior to and during the destruction. In case the decommissioning poses a threat to the environment in the area around the fire range in Zmeyovo, central Bulgaria, the ministry would come up with alternative ways for the destruction of the arsenal, the document said.

Earlier, Minister Dolores Arsenova had said that the ministry would not make a preliminary assessment of the environmental risk on the grounds that a parliamentary decision had classified the information on the missiles.

On Tuesday, a civil association of non-government organisations and experts reiterated its demands for a complex evaluation of the environmental impact and the methods of destruction of the missiles, as well as for up-to-date information for the monitoring of the Stara Zagora and Kazanluk regions and the closure of the Zmeyovo military ground, where the decommissioning is scheduled to take place.