U.S. troops to reside in Bulgarian bases in 2007: ambassador

Around 3,500 U.S.troops will be deployed in military bases in Bulgaria starting from 2007, the U.S. ambassador to the eastern European country said on Tuesday.

John Beyrle made the remarks during a visit to Bezmer air base in central the Bulgarian city Yambol.

During a meeting with Vasil Petrov, chief of the greater area of Yambol, Beyrle confirmed that the two countries would sign documents on joint use of military bases in Bulgaria at NATO's ministerial level meeting, which is scheduled for mid-April in Sofia, local newspaper Labour reported on Wednesday.

Beyrle said the U.S. troops would be residing at Bulgarian bases by 2007 at the earliest, and the number of military personnel would not surpass 3,500 at a time, the newspaper reported.

In the coming years, NATO will hand over 30.86 million euros (about 37 million U.S. dollars) for the construction of the bases which will host U.S. troops, the ambassador added.

The United States announced in 2004 changes to global military deployments. Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria and Romania have become the most favored areas for U.S. troops' eastern-oriented redeployment.

Bulgaria and the U.S. have carried out three rounds of talks about military bases since May 2005.

Following an agreement reached by the two sides on two bases -- one at Bezmer airfield and the other at Novo Selo shooting range -- talks are now under way for a possible third -- an airfield at Graf Ignitievo.

Source: Xinhua