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Bulgaria's government will ask Parliament to approve the deployment of up to eight U.S. aerial refueling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base following a request from Washington to support operations in the Middle East, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said Monday.
Speaking at the opening of the annual conference of Bulgarian ambassadors in Sofia, Radev said the U.S. Embassy submitted a diplomatic note on June 17 requesting the deployment under the 2006 Defense Cooperation Agreement between Bulgaria and the United States, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).
Bulgaria, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), will seek parliamentary approval for the U.S. tanker aircraft to be stationed at the military facility.
The Council of Ministers was expected to approve a proposal later Monday to submit the request to the National Assembly for authorization, Radev said.
Parliament's defense committee is expected to begin the approval process Tuesday.
Radev said Bezmer Air Base is a joint-use facility under the bilateral defense agreement, but Bulgarian law requires parliamentary approval for the deployment of foreign military forces or assets.
"Despite the urgent nature of the request, we have not yet taken a decision because, under Bulgarian law, such authorization must be granted by Parliament," he said.
Approval would allow U.S. aircraft involved in operations in the Middle East to use the base for refueling and related support on a longer-term basis.
The Bezmer military base is located about 260 kilometers, or 160 miles, southeast of Sofia, near the town of Yambol. It is used by the Bulgarian Air Force and has previously hosted U.S. military activity under the 2006 defense cooperation agreement.
Radev criticized the previous government over its handling of a similar deployment earlier this year, when U.S. Air Force aerial refueling aircraft were stationed at Sofia's main Vasil Levski Airport.
He said the previous administration approved the deployment before obtaining parliamentary approval, misrepresented its nature and sought to keep it from public attention.
The move sparked controversy because the aircraft were stationed at a civilian airport close to the capital. The planes left last month.
"The problem was that the military planes were based at a civilian airport in close proximity to Sofia. That is why we proposed to our allies to occupy military airfields," Radev said.
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Radev described the government's approach as part of a broader policy aimed at balancing allied commitments with Bulgaria's national interests.
He previously criticized the presence of U.S. aircraft at Sofia's main airport in May.
Radev had also sought an arrangement with U.S. President Donald Trump that would allow a U.S. presence at Sofia Airport in exchange for Washington lifting visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens. He later said he had "not received a positive answer" from Trump.
Before entering politics, Radev served as a major general and commander in the Bulgarian Air Force.
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