The first note states that the planes are deployed on the territory of Bulgaria in the context of the forward deployment of NATO's Eastern flank, for support and during exercises. This was commented on by the former Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov in the program “Hello, Bulgaria”. The reason for his words is the proposal of the new government to base up to eight American tanker aircraft at Bezmer Airport and the criticism by the current Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov regarding the lack of exercises during the previous stay of US aircraft in Sofia.
“We intended to conduct an exercise to refuel the Bulgarian F-16s and restore the training of Bulgarian pilots for refueling in the air. Unfortunately, however, this is not being implemented”, added the former minister, specifying that the plans were not implemented for various organizational reasons.
On NATO's Eastern Flank, troops are deployed in different countries, Zapryanov explained. “They are not deployed for a specific exercise. If there is one planned, they come and go at a certain moment”, explained the former minister. He added that during the previous deployment of American aircraft in our country, the services stated that there was no direct military danger to our country.
Regarding the capacity of Bezmer Airport, Zapryanov stated that the airbase is prepared with NATO investments to receive military transport aircraft, not only tankers. “It is part of the plans for the collective defense of the Alliance”, the former defense minister noted.
According to Zapryanov, Bulgaria is a sovereign state and since the nature of the mission has clearly changed, only the Bulgarian parliament can decide on the subject. “If it decides positively, the planes will return. However, if the majority that currently governs does not agree, the planes will not come”, he said, adding that there is no imperative task or commitment from the Bulgarian side under this contract.
The warning note from Iran, which states that any activity facilitating American attacks will be considered complicity, was defined by the former minister as “a factual warning”. He explained the procedure in which the security services – The Military Intelligence Service, the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency conduct an analysis of the specific notes, determine and assess the risk, and then propose appropriate measures to the government.