Army Times - Bulgaria to allow U.S. troops at military facilities

original


Associated Press

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Lawmakers approved an agreement on Friday allowing the U.S. troops to use Bulgarian military facilities.

The ratification was the last formality before the deal takes effect, and opened the way for the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the end of the year or early next year as planned.

The agreement was supported by 150 lawmakers of the 172 present in the 240-seat chamber. Twenty lawmakers voted against, and two abstained.

Under the 10-year deal, signed in April by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin, up to 2,500 U.S. troops will use four military facilities.

“The agreement is not directed against any third country,” Kalfin told parliament before the vote. Rather, it is “an answer to the new threats ... connected to terrorism, proliferation of nuclear weapons and irrational use of weapons,” he said.

Along with ratifying the deal, lawmakers voted on a declaration hailing the agreement as “an important factor promoting security and stability in southeastern Europe and the Black Sea region.”

The declaration also sought to make clear that the agreement would not lead to nuclear weapons being stationed on Bulgarian soil.

The deal would be a guarantee that “the U.S. shall have no intention, plan or reason to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of Bulgaria,” it said.

The four facilities that the United States will use with Bulgaria’s military are the Bezmer and the Graf Ignatievo air bases, the Novo Selo training area and some storage facilities near Aitos.

The deal is part of the Pentagon’s plan to shift troops based in Europe further east, to small, flexible bases closer to potential hotspots in the Middle East.