The security of Bulgarian airspace is guaranteed. This was stated by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and commented that there is a clear protocol according to which the Bulgarian air defense coordinates its actions with NATO if necessary, quoted by BNT.
Our Air Force already has over 10 years of experience in responding to violations of our airspace. The problems on the Eastern Flank began back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea. Then, for one year, our combat aircraft were launched several times a week. Or as many as they had been launched in total over the previous 20 years.
At that time, NATO's enhanced air protection was also introduced in the region and the early warning system of the member states became operational. Thus, in May 2020, fighter jets from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey had to escort two Russian bombers over the Black Sea to prevent the violation of the airspace of the three countries. After the incident in Poland, security measures have been further strengthened, Prime Minister Zhelyazkov commented today.
The protection of Bulgarian airspace is ensured as part of the reinforcement of NATO's southeastern flank, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said on the occasion of the entry of a Russian drone into Romanian airspace.
"There is a common protocol that is followed by our Chief of Defense with our NATO allies. Measures have been taken to protect our airspace, especially in the northeastern part of the country. This is part of the reinforcement of NATO's southeastern flank. We are monitoring the situation very carefully, because we also need to guarantee the security of civil aviation. I think that the Russian Federation will also be very careful and will avoid the possibility of incidents over the Black Sea, where air traffic is extremely intense," said Rosen Zhelyazkov.
NATO airspace over the Black Sea is mainly guarded by the Air Forces of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, and under the Enhanced Local Guard program, 8 Greek F-16 fighter jets are stationed at the Alliance's air base near the Romanian city of Constanta.
"I think that these provocations are tests to test the Alliance's readiness. They are not offensive in nature, but regardless, every provocation must be reflected in the appropriate manner," said Zhelyazkov.
The Prime Minister also commented that the government is taking the submitted fifth vote of no confidence seriously.
"You see that there are no requests from the coalition or the majority for support for the government to decrease. On the contrary, we are witnessing the fact that the more they attack us on topics that are largely inherited. The majority are generated as scandals, whether because of the vote, or because of the desire to deviate Bulgaria from its natural path of development, they make the government even more motivated, even more convinced, and I am sure that the majority also expresses its political will clearly and categorically. ", commented the Prime Minister.
Zhelyazkov added that the government guarantees the country's path to Europe and NATO. And the GERB leader accused PP-DB of not offering an alternative.
"What are they proposing, to embrace "Vazrazhdane". "Vazrazhdane" is protesting against our European path. So their hypocrisy and the fact that they are not at all interested in what will happen in the presidential elections. But they don't care at all, they don't care at all. They have no plan. Their plan is to destroy, without any plan for what to build. None," said Boyko Borisov, chairman of the GERB-SDF parliamentary group.
Borisov added that the monitoring mechanism over our country, which the Council of Europe introduced 26 years ago, is also set to be abolished by the end of the month.