The US government announced on Monday that it had approved the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Bulgaria to "strengthen the security" of this member of NATO, against the backdrop of the war led by Russia in Ukraine.
The US State Department said in a statement that it had notified the United States Congress of its intention to sell these fighters and ammunition to this Eastern European country for an amount of 1.67 billion dollars.
He did not specify whether this sale could pave the way for the transfer to Ukraine of Soviet-made combat aircraft, which Bulgaria has.
"Improving Bulgaria's ability to deal with threats"
kyiv is asking its Western partners for the Mig-29s that its soldiers already know how to fly, and which a handful of Eastern European countries have.
A possible transfer of such Russian planes from Poland had been discussed in early March, before the United States opposed it, fearing that Russia could see too much direct involvement of NATO in the conflict.
According to the State Department, the sale of F-16s "will improve Bulgaria's ability to deal with current and future threats, allowing the Bulgarian Air Force to regularly deploy modern fighter aircraft in the Black Sea region" of which Ukraine is also bordering.
Strengthening the "eastern flank" of the Atlantic Alliance is part of Washington's strategy to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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