EditBulgaria raises visa waiver in talks for continued U.S. military aircraft presence in Sofia
The Bulgarian PМ spoke to Donald Trump and said he expected the visa waiver issue “to be considered as a matter of urgency”
Bulgarian new Prime Minister Rumen Radev Sofia has raised the issue of lifting visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens in discussions with Washington over the continued deployment of U.S. military aircraft at Bulgaria’s main civilian airport, amid ongoing questions about the scope and duration of the american presence and Bulgaria’s long-standing bid to join the US Visa Waiver Programme.
Radev held talks yesterday with U.S. President Donald Trump and War secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the stationing of American military aircraft currently deployed at Sofia’s Vassil Levski Airport. Under the existing arrangement, the aircraft are due to remain there until the end of May.
“The United States is our strategic partner and ally. The aircraft are stationed there with the authorisation of the Council of Ministers, granted by the government of Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov, until the end of this month. I expect the American side to request an extension of their stay at Sofia Airport,” Radev said, adding that he had raised the issue of lifting U.S. visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens in that context.
The statement issued by the Bulgarian government did not clarify the precise response from Trump and Hegseth. Radev nevertheless said he expected the visa waiver issue “to be considered as a matter of urgency”.
Several U.S. military aircraft are currently stationed at Sofia Airport, including aerial refuelling tankers, three transport aircraft — C-17s and C-130s — as well as several Boeing 747 aircraft used for troop transport.
U.S. military buildup in Bulgaria amid Iran tensions: Sofia Airport deployment raises alarms
The U.S. Embassy in Sofia initially stated that the American military aircraft deployed at the civilian Sofia Airport were not intended for current or planned military operations. It later emerged, however, that this was not accurate. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently thanked Bulgaria for its support for the United States during the conflict with Iran.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence said the aircraft were transport planes without offensive capabilities and that their deployment had been authorised following a request from the U.S. Embassy in Sofia.
The authorisation for transit through Bulgarian territory and temporary deployment covers the period from 17 February until 31 May this year. According to the Ministry of Defence, the permit allows for up to 15 aircraft and as many as 500 support personnel.
Amid growing public tension over the deployment, Bulgaria’s former caretaker government said it would examine the possibility of relocating the aircraft to military airbases elsewhere in the country. That never materialised, however, because only Sofia Airport could provide the required quantities of aviation fuel.
Iran later sent an official diplomatic note to Bulgaria warning Sofia over the presence of American aircraft at the airport. Tehran described their deployment as part of U.S. operations in the Middle East and said it reserved the right to take measures to protect its national interests.
Bulgarian authorities subsequently summoned the Iranian ambassador to explain the situation.
“Our commitment concerns only Bulgarian territory. Aircraft departing from here may return either to the United States or to American bases elsewhere. In Bulgaria, they are not linked to combat operations. It is very important for us to maintain intact diplomatic relations with Iran and to continue a constant dialogue with them,” then caretaker foreign minister Nadezhda Neynsky said at the time.
Only days ago, U.S State Secretary Marco Rubio singled out Bulgaria among NATO countries that had been particularly helpful to Washington during the conflict with Iran. Speaking to Fox News, Rubio stressed that some NATO member states had been “very helpful” to the United States.
“Just as an example, Portugal. They said ‘yes’ before we had even told them what the question was. Poland. There are countries like Romania, Bulgaria. Others, like Spain, were terrible, absolutely shocking,” Rubio said.
Under the 2006 Defence cooperation agreement between Bulgaria and the U.S., American army have access to several joint military facilities in Bulgaria, including the Novo Selo Training Area, the Graf Ignatievo Air Base, the Bezmer Air Base and the Aytos Logistics Center.
The facilities remain under Bulgarian sovereignty and are jointly used by Bulgarian and US troops for training, logistics and NATO operations on the Alliance’s eastern flank. Washington does not maintain permanent US military bases in Bulgaria in the traditional sense, but the agreement allows for rotational deployments of U.S. personnel and equipment as part of broader NATO security arrangements in the Black Sea region.
Despite repeated political efforts by Sofia, Bulgaria still does not meet the technical criteria for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Program. Under American law, participating countries must maintain a non-immigrant visa refusal rate below 3%, alongside strict standards on border security, information sharing and counter-terrorism cooperation. Bulgaria’s refusal rate has consistently remained at 8-9% above the threshold set by the U.S. State Department.
Caption: Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev attends a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 May 2026. EPA/FILIP SINGER
Updated: May 21, 2026 - 05:10
