Security in the Balkans, energy issues and the waiver of US visas for Bulgarians were the main topics discussed by Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and US president George W Bush at their meeting in the Oval Office on June 18.

Bush praised Bulgaria's contribution to the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and military co-operation, the country's role for the stability of the Balkans and the Black Sea region, as well as Stanishev's own efforts in fighting organised crime, the Bulgarian Cabinet and White House press services said in separate statements.

"I applauded the Prime Minister for his and his Government's work on dealing with corruption. I reminded the Prime Minister that all of us have got a responsibility to deal with corruption," Bush said. "Nobody wants to have a government where it looks like a few benefit at the cost of many.And so your tough stance have made a big difference. I'm proud that you're here. I want to thank you for it."

For his part, Stanishev thanked Bush for the support Bulgaria has received from the US: "I remember that last year you supported the establishment of the new State Agency for National Security. I can say with satisfaction that it is already operational, it works excellently with American services, and it has operations which are bringing concrete fruits."

He went on to add that Bulgaria appreciated the efforts put into Bulgaria joining the US visa waiver programme. "I thank you very much for this support and for the American experts who worked on this declaration on visa waiver. You, mister president, were the first to say that this is not a normal situation, when two nations have such confidence, when we have 200 000 Bulgarians living in the United States, more and more Americans coming to Bulgaria, to have this obstacle for normal human contacts," Stanishev said.

"There is work to do. But we shall do it together, and I believe that the sooner we achieve [our goal], the better for the citizens of our two countries," he added.

On nuclear energy, Stanishev used the opportunity to once again stress Bulgaria's goal to serve as the Balkans' energy hub, with nuclear energy playing a key role in that process. To that end, Bulgaria would explore opportunities to extend the exploitation and build additional capacities at its Kozloduy power plant.

Stanishev's meeting with Bush was the climax of Stanishev's official four-day visit to the US, followed only by a meeting with house of representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi. From Washinton, Stanishev left for Brussels, where he will take part in the June 19-20 session of the European Council.