Bulgaria approved the deployment of troops to boost the security of Turkey's airspace 32502163

Defence & Security News - Bulgaria, Turkey
 
Bulgaria approved the deployment of troops to boost the security of Turkey's airspace
The Bulgarian government approved on Wednesday the deployment of eight troops in support of NATO mission to boost the security of Turkey's airspace, local media reported. Troops will be deployed as of March 01, 2016, for a period of six months, the cabinet has said.
     
Bulgaria approved the deployment of 8 troops to boost the security of Turkey s airspace 640 001Bulgarian troops (Photo by BGNES)
     
The Bulgarian servicemen will start their six-month participation on March 1, the Bulgarian Dnevnik news portal said.

Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev is quoted by Dnevnik.bg as saying they are not "pilots" but will provide "technical assistance", monitoring and control as part of the mission.

After the cabinet meeting, Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev stressed that the Bulgarian servicemen were not pilots and would only provide technical assistance to the NATO mission, including monitoring and control.

NATO's decision to build up security in the Turkish airspace comes after the incident with the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by Ankara.

In November, a Turkish jet shot down the Su-24 over Syria after an alleged airspace violation. The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command have both said that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace.