Bulgaria’s Parliament approves hosting of US tanker aircraft for operations in Middle East
Bulgaria’s National Assembly voted on July 22 to approve the hosting at Bezmer military air base of United States tanker refuelling military aircraft.
In the 240-seat House, 136 voted in favour, with 13 against and two abstentions.
The votes in favour came from Prime Minister Roumen Radev’s ruling Progressive Bulgaria party and from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Magnitsky Act-sanctioned Delyan Peevski’s party.
The votes against came from Parliament’s smallest party, pro-Russian Vuzrazhdane, and one Progressive Bulgaria MP.
Two Progressive Bulgaria MPs abstained.
Boiko Borissov’s GERB-UDF, Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change did not vote.
With Parliament’s approval confirmed, the US will be able to deploy up to eight US KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft and 250 military personnel at Bezmer. The deployment is planned for the period from July 24 to October 1 2026.
The draft decision was tabled by Radev’s government. He announced earlier that he had received the request from the US embassy in Sofia.
It was approved at a special meeting of Parliament’s defence committee on July 21, prompting Iran to warn against allowing the US to use its territory for military operations against it.
Both Radev and Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov attended Parliament’s debate and vote. Earlier, Radev told a scheduled Cabinet meeting that it was “categorically ruled out” that combat operations in the Middle East will be conducted from Bulgarian territory.
GERB-UDF MP and former foreign minister Daniel Mitov told the House: “I will personally vote yes because Bulgaria is part of Nato not in words, but with a signature, and because an ally that refuses an airport to another ally in a time of crisis is not neutral, but simply unreliable. My vote will be a vote in spite of the government, not a vote of confidence in it.”
Democratic Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Bozhanov said: “You could have received support for this difficult decision if you had made long-term decisions, if you had not systematically destroyed the European consensus, if you had been honest with the Bulgarian citizens.
“We will not participate in this vote today. We will leave you alone with your own political hypocrisy and populism and, of course, in the company of the one who always votes at the behest of the US in the hope of having the sanctions lifted,” Bozhanov said, in a reference to Peevski.
This is not to rub your nose in. This is so that you can see that when responsibility is taken, it is difficult.”
Radoslav Ribarski of We Continue the Change said: “This decision should not have been made in the National Assembly.
“This decision legitimizes something that you categorically refused to accept and this was a fundamental fear that you instilled in people during the past election campaign,” Ribarski told Radev.
“You are currently legitimizing this operation with a decision of the National Assembly and this is precisely what is putting Bulgaria before some future consequences that, for me, are currently immeasurable. This decision should have been within the framework of the agreement we have with the US and not affected a decision of the National Assembly,” Ribarski said.
Vuzrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said: “You, who support Roumen Radev’s proposal, will become traitors and liars to your own voters.”
Slavi Vassilev of Progressive Bulgaria said: “Today’s decision to deploy the American aircraft should not be seen as a unilateral favor to the United States government.
“It creates political and alliance capital that the government and the Prime Minister will utilise in the interest of Bulgaria – what we call the national interest, which some of you cannot see exactly what it means,” Vassilev said.
Radev spoke at the close of debate and just before the vote, using the opportunity to seek to deny recent criticism of his government’s confusing and contradictory signals on foreign policy, and – as has become customary – to hit out at previous governments.
“Bulgarian citizens have stopped believing politicians because of the outrageous lies. Today we have listened to all kinds of lies,” Radev said.
Dismissing previous governments’ statements that the US aircraft previously had been stationed at Vassil Levski Sofia Airport for a Nato exercise, Radev said that this was a lie.
“Give me the name of the exercise. Everything was clear from day one that these tankers are not here for an exercise. This lie was exposed by [US Secretary of State] Marco Rubio. He said that Bulgaria helped a lot for the operation in the Middle East,” Radev said.
“You allowed them to be based at a civilian airport next to busy terminals with thousands of people. What you allowed, we removed.
“We suggested that they leave Sofia Airport and go to Bezmer or Graf Ignatievo Airport. They [the US] refused. What we are doing today is following the truth. The note we received is the real one.
“The law obliges us, with such a nature of the note, for the decision to be made by the National Assembly. You have no basis for claims that the government is hiding behind the National Assembly,” Radev said.
“Are we pursuing a dual and militaristic policy – no, we are not. This war – I’m talking about Ukraine, there is no military solution.
“About the tactical nuclear strike – I told our partners that too. We are trying to achieve victory over the largest nuclear power without being able to retaliate. What I say outside and what I say here are the same – diplomacy, negotiations,” he said.
Radev has been widely accused by the opposition of fearmongering by talking about what he sees as the risk of Russia using a tactical nuclear strike in its war on Ukraine.
(Photo: US Air Force)
