Bulgaria to cut US military aircraft stay over visa issue, PM Radev says

SARAJEVO, May 29 (Reuters) – Bulgaria will allow U.S. military aircraft to stay in the NATO member country only until the end of June, after the United States failed to approve a visa-free system for Bulgarian visitors, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said on Friday.

“I fully understand the complexity of the regulatory procedures and the need for time, but we also have our priorities and procedures, and we cannot respond positively to the request for long stays of aircraft and tanks at the Sofia airport,” BTA news agency quoted Radev as saying.

Here are some details:

• Earlier this month, Radev spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump and called for the suspension of the visa system to the U.S. for Bulgarian nationals.

• Radev said he insisted that the matter be considered urgently but has not received a positive answer.

• Bulgaria hosts U.S. military aircraft in its capital Sofia under an agreement valid until the end of May.

• Radev said the government will on Friday adopt a decision to extend the U.S. aircraft’s stay until the end of June to give the U.S. time to rethink its actions.

• Radev won a landslide election victory in a parliamentary election on April 19.

(Writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Barbara Lewis)