site.btaPresident: Nikolay Nenchev Grounded the Air Force, and Tsvetan Tsvetanov is on Autopilot When He Speaks

Sofia, July 4 (BTA) - Nikolay Nenchev grounded the Bulgarian Air Force, and Tsvetan Tsvetanov is on autopilot when he speaks, according to President Rumen Radev. The head of state spoke to journalists on Monday before a court hearing of a case in which former Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev is charged in connection with the servicing of MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force. President Radev, who is former Air Force Commander, is a witness in the case.

Radev said that Nenchev's stint as defence minister (2014-2017) was a failure. "Mr Nenchev most certainly 'crashed' in the case of Poland," the President said, referring to the assignment of the servicing of Bulgaria's Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets to a Polish contractor. Radev recalled that an information sheet which he himself had submitted as a military commander clearly said that Poland might have potential to service the Bulgarian jets but the matter should be carefully examined. The information sheet was submitted during the tenure of Defence Minister Angel Naydenov, who served before Nenchev. Radev said he has always insisted that Bulgaria should sign a contract with Russia's RSK MiG corporation in order to salvage the Bulgarian Air Force.

"Another thing which I have always called for is to seek opportunities for the diversification of services by approaching Poland - and for the acquisition of a new type of airplanes over the long term," Radev went on to say. "The Air Force descended into total collapse," he said, discussing Nenchev's failures. Radev admitted that Bulgaria's military airplanes were practically grounded. Currently, the planes can fly only because Bulgarian engineers have extended their service life. "This is against all rules, and we are the ones who bear the risk," President Radev said.

Discussing a parliamentary inquiry into the selection of Gripen fighters for purchase for the Bulgarian Air Force, Radev said: "An attempt is being made to turn the Bulgarian Parliament into a permanent tribunal for political influence. This National Assembly is making scandals, not laws."

The President noted that when he met with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on Monday, they discussed the need to prevent a war of institutions which some politicians in Borissov's GERB party are apparently trying to wage. Radev expressed his hope that GERB will embrace Borissov's statesmanlike approach which, according to the President, is at odds with the actions and the declarations of GERB Deputy Chairman and Floor Leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov. Speaking about Tsvetanov, the President said: "He knows more about apartments than about fighter jets. His only connection with aviation is that he is on autopilot when he speaks and someone else sets the course for him." The reference to the "apartments" was a throwback to a scandal about the acquisition of housing by Tsvetanov and members of his family.