Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced that today the Council of Ministers will submit to the National Assembly a proposal to authorize the stationing of up to eight American tanker aircraft at Bezmer airfield. This became clear during the opening of the Annual Ambassadors' Conference, where the Prime Minister outlined details regarding the deployment of the allied military machines in our country.
Radev recalled that since February of this year, the aircraft in question had already been positioned at the civilian airport in Sofia, without prior public announcement. According to him, the "Peevski and Borisov government" allowed the basing of the American military aircraft "behind the backs of parliament and the citizens" – without a debate and without an explicit decision by the National Assembly.
"The government at the time said 'yes' before they were even asked. People had to find out from photos taken by passengers at the airport that there were some large aircraft there and wonder what they were doing there," Rumen Radev added, criticizing the lack of transparency and institutional control over such decisions.
The Prime Minister explained that the caretaker cabinet of Andrey Gyurov subsequently extended the stay of the machines until May. However, when the current government received a request for a new long-term extension of their base in Sofia, it refused to grant consent under the same conditions. "The problem was that the aircraft were based at the civilian airport, in close proximity to the capital. That is why we suggested to our allies that they occupy military airfields – Bezmer or Graf Ignatievo," Radev pointed out.
According to him, the allies initially refused this option, which forced the cabinet to shorten the term of the authorization for the machines to stay in Sofia until June 30. "That is why we immediately shortened the authorization period until June 30," the Prime Minister explained, emphasizing that the deployment of heavy military platforms at a civilian airport next to a large city is a sensitive topic for security and public trust.
Radev described July 17 as a key turning point, when the Bulgarian government received an official note from the US embassy. In the document, the US officially requested the deployment of the tanker aircraft at Bezmer airfield to support American operations in the Middle East, citing the 2006 bilateral cooperation agreement.
Despite the urgent nature of the request, the Prime Minister emphasized that the cabinet did not grant permission unilaterally. Under Bulgarian law, such a decision must necessarily be approved by the National Assembly. Therefore, the Council of Ministers will propose that parliament rule on the matter of basing up to eight American tanker aircraft at the Bezmer military base.
Radev's statement triggered an immediate reaction from the opposition. GERB highlighted a discrepancy between the initially announced purpose of the American flights and the current one. "The request from the government and the corresponding authorization granted by Defense Minister Zapryanov was for a NATO exercise. Based on the information provided by Prime Minister Radev, the American side is now requesting through a note the stay of these aircraft for an operation in the Middle East," commented MP Georg Georgiev.
He defined the approach that he believes Bulgaria should follow in its relations with allies as follows: "This is part of the important diplomacy and serious policy that Bulgaria must conduct so as to uphold its national interests. We must always weave our national interest into every single decision, into every single format."