U.S. military aircraft leave Bulgaria as visa waiver gambit fails

The last U.S. military aircraft deployed to Bulgaria departed on Sunday, ending a temporary mission that became entangled in domestic politics after Prime Minister Rumen Radev attempted to link an extension of the deployment to the long-standing issue of U.S. visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens.

Washington declined to publicly engage with the proposal and the aircraft left Sofia as scheduled, leaving Bulgaria without the visa concessions sought by the government.

“The last aircraft took off at around 14:00 on Sunday, so the mission of the American aircraft in Bulgaria has ended,” Defence Minister Stefan Stoyanov said on Monday.

The minister stressed that the United States had complied with the Bulgarian government’s decision to terminate the deployment by the end of June. “Our colleagues and strategic partners respected the decision of the Council of Ministers and honoured our position on the matter,” he said.

The Bulgarian government initially authorised the deployment of the aircraft at Sofia Airport until the end of May, but later PM Radev subsequently extended the permit by one month, until 30 June.

The U.S. Air Force deployed a total of 15 aircraft to Sofia’s civilian airport, including troop transport planes and aerial refuelling tankers. Washington had requested an extension until the end of July, but Radev decided to link any further authorisation to the removal of U.S. visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens – a deal that ultimately did not materialise.

Bulgaria raises visa waiver in talks for continued U.S. military aircraft presence in Sofia

Radev and his Progressive Bulgaria party won the April elections with strong backing from a significant segment of the country’s pro-Russian and Eurosceptic electorate.

At the time of the election campaign, the presence of American military aircraft at Sofia’s civilian airport had become an increasingly sensitive political issue, as the aircraft were clearly visible to passengers travelling through Bulgaria’s largest airport.

The deployment fuelled debate over whether the Bulgarian capital could become a legitimate target for Iranian ballistic missiles. Pro-Russian political groups also questioned the Bulgarian government’s involvement in the U.S. and Israeli operation against Iran.

Following his election as prime minister, Radev moved quickly to raise the issue publicly and sought to gain political capital among his supporters by portraying himself as a firm defender of Bulgaria’s national interests. He announced that he had presented what he described as a political offer to President Donald Trump, linking the continued presence of the aircraft in Sofia to the lifting of visa requirements for Bulgarians.

Washington never issued an official response and, ultimately, the aircraft were withdrawn from Sofia Airport.

“They will leave Vasil Levski Airport by the end of the month, but the United States remains our strategic ally in security and a key partner in energy, high technology, artificial intelligence and the economy. The government will continue working to deepen cooperation between the two countries,” Radev said in a conciliatory statement shortly before the aircraft departed.

It later emerged that the Bulgarian government had attempted to negotiate the relocation of the aircraft to the military air bases at Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo, where they would have attracted less public attention.

However, Sofia Airport proved to be the only facility in the country capable of supporting the deployment, including providing the substantial quantities of aviation fuel required by the tanker aircraft.

Former caretaker defence minister Atanas Zapryanov previously stated that Bulgaria had agreed to host the American tanker aircraft at Sofia Airport in March in exchange for an extension of the derogation allowing the operation of the local Lukoil refinery.

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Iranian warning

In May, Iran sent an official diplomatic note to Bulgaria warning Sofia over the presence of American aircraft at the airport. Tehran described the 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 provide an explanation regarding the matter.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later singled out Bulgaria among NATO allies that had been particularly helpful to Washington during the conflict with Iran. Rubio stressed that several NATO member states had been “very helpful” to the United States.

Under the 2006 Defence Cooperation Agreement between Bulgaria and the U.S., American forces have access to several joint military facilities in Bulgaria, including the Novo Selo Training Area, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bezmer Air Base and the Aytos Logistics Centre.

The facilities remain under Bulgarian sovereignty and are jointly used by Bulgarian and U.S. troops for training, logistics and NATO operations on the Alliance’s eastern flank.

While Washington does not maintain permanent military bases in Bulgaria in the traditional sense, the agreement allows for rotational deployments of U.S. personnel and equipment as part of broader NATO security arrangements in the Black Sea region.

U.S. visa waiver

Despite repeated efforts by successive Bulgarian governments, the country still does not meet the technical requirements for inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme. Under American law, participating countries must maintain a non-immigrant visa refusal rate below 3%, alongside stringent standards on border security, information-sharing and counter-terrorism cooperation.

Bulgaria’s refusal rate has consistently remained between 8% and 9%, well above the threshold established by the U.S. State Department.

As of 2026, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus remain the only European Union member states whose citizens are not included in the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme.

Caption: KC-135R/T Stratotanker aircraft of the US Air Force, stationed at Sofia Airport. Their main purpose is to refuel combat aircraft in flight. BGNES/ANTON STANKOV