SOFIA, Bulgaria, March 24 (UPI) -- Bulgaria Friday confirmed that the United States will establish three military bases in the country as part of a new deployment strategy. Under the deal, 3,000 American soldiers will be based at the Novo Selo training base and at the Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo airbases.
The agreement will be signed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she participates in a summit for NATO foreign ministers in Sofia next month. If the bases are to be used for military attacks, the Bulgarian parliament must give its approval.
Last December, a similar agreement was signed with Romania. The new deployments are part of plans announced by the Pentagon, to transfer troops from Germany and South Korea to new bases in Eastern Europe, where they are within close range of the Middle East. Bulgaria is one of Washington's staunchest allies in the region. Along with neighboring country Romania, it also tops the list of European states that are suspected of having hosted covert interrogation centers used by the CIA. The two Black Sea states have vehemently denied the allegations, which were published by human rights organizations in November. |