Bulgaria Pressed to Ratify NATO Cross-Border Patrols Protocol

Experts at two leading US-based think tanks have urged Bulgaria to ratify a treaty signed with neighbouring Romania on 18 March that would permit NATO cross-border air policing operations.

The Atlantic Council, a respected US think tank founded in 1961, has called for the speedy approval of the military protocol, which has not yet been submitted for ratification to Bulgaria's new parliament elected on 4 April, the Prudent Press Agency reported on Sunday.

The think tank called for "urgent action to ratify the protocol" in order to enhance the security of Bulgarian airspace in the context of the deployment of tens of thousands of Russian troops and weaponry near the border between Russia and Ukraine.

In an article published on April 19, on the Middle East Institute website, analyst Mihail Naydenov also stressed the importance of the protocol entering into force.

"Once the agreement is ratified by both parliaments, NATO fighter aircraft deployed either in Bulgaria or in Romania to support their respective air police operations will be allowed to conduct cross-border missions," he wrote.

The agreement "was an important and overdue step to strengthen allied air policing over their territories" in order to better protect them "from Russian violations", the expert wrote in the article, titled "Bulgaria in the Black Sea: Defending Against Russian Hybrid Warfare".

Regional experts contacted by BIRN said Romania had already started the ratification process, and there are no concerns about the parliament in Bucharest refusing to approve the protocol.

"There is resistance from several fronts in the case of Bulgaria, while no one opposes the agreement in Romania," said former Romanian diplomat and director of the Constanta...