Tensions with Russia: Bulgarian government worried by air space intrusions
According to Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev, Russian fighter aircraft have intruded into Bulgarian airspace a total of 10 times in the past month. Nenchev said that this development was “very worrying”. The Air Force was taking preventive measures, the minister said in a television interview.
Nenchev was also quoted as saying that any unauthorised entry into the country’s airspace required the scrambling of Bulgarian fighters, which consumed a lot of resources.
Other Nato countries have reported similar incidents on a regular basis, since the tension with Russia started increasing, due to the Crimea crisis in 2014. Prime Minister Borissov has recently called for a “demilitarised zone” in the airspace above the Black Sea.
