Bulgaria is to replace 500 Russian tanks with US-made models and would welcome a move by Washington to base more troops in Bulgaria, Defence Minister Nikolai Svinarov told the Dnevnik newspaper on Thursday. "We will replace 500 Russian T-72 tanks which we hope to sell off within two months," he was quoted as saying.
| Guess they noticed how well the T72s performed in Gulf War I. I've always wondered how the Russers managed to sell any tanks after that... |
Svinarov said the replacements would be supplied by General Dynamics, which makes tanks for the US military and confirmed he had held talks with another US company, Unisys, on building a national defence command centre for Bulgaria.
The minister last week accompanied Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg to Washington for talks with US President George Bush. The White House tried to secure the support of Bulgaria, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for a proposed resolution paving the way for war on Iraq. Svinarov confirmed that Washington also "put out feelers" about sending US troops currently based in Germany, to Bulgaria as part of a redeployment towards eastern Europe with a view to a possible war. Such a step "would be good for the Bulgarian army and economy", he said, adding that "developments in this regard will obviously happen before the end of the year." Svinarov said the defence ministry could earn about 280,000 dollars (307,000 euros) from a base that takes 200 soldiers, he said. The minister said bases at Ravnetz and Novo, in the east, Chabla, on the Black Sea, and at Bezmer, Graf-Ignatievo, and Koren, all in the south, could all accommodate US troops, though the US army could only choose one.
The Bulgarian parliament on February 7 authorized the United States to use the Sarafovo airport on the Black Sea for air refueling, as they had during the war in Afghanistan, and two refueling aircraft arrived there this week. The government has said that it is still to decide whether to support the US bid for another resolution against Baghdad, which France, Germany and Russia have vowed to block. Bulgaria has muted its initial strong support for the hardline US position on Iraq but Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday during a visit to Sofia that he had failed to win the former Soviet-era ally over to the anti-war coalition. |