Warplanes from a Nato member state are due in Bulgaria as attacks on ships in the Black Sea become more frequent, defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov told BNT.
"Soon you will see aircraft from a Nato member state present on our territory," he said. Bulgaria will write to Nato headquarters by the end of October to say it will join the alliance's programme to protect against drones.
A few days before the interview, drones hit two chemical tankers off the Romanian coast. The day before it, Romanian F-16 fighter jets shot down two drones over Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea.
Stoyanov said Nato cannot send ships into the Black Sea because of the Montreux Convention and the commitments Turkey made at the start of the war. He said forces and equipment must therefore be placed on land and in the air. The aim is to get a picture of the real situation as early as possible, so that Bulgaria can respond properly, including with Bulgarian forces and equipment.
Bulgarian jets will take off if airspace is violated, as it was in Romania, provided there is reliable information that the violation is real, Stoyanov said. "We are ready to meet any challenge," he said.
Admiral Eftimov is in direct contact with General Grynkewich, the minister said.