Bulgaria's Military, Border Police to Conduct Joint Black Sea Drill in April

Bulgaria's Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said Armed Forces and Border Police officers are set to carry out a military drill in a move bolstering security at the country's Black Sea border.

Speaking at the inauguration of Bezmer Airbase, he has not specified a date, but has set the beginning of April as a possible timeframe.

Bulgarian authorities have repeatedly raised their fears of a possible inflow of migrants into the country from Turkey and Greece, with people potentially either entering through the land borders or arriving across the Black Sea.  

Nenchev has also pointed to the improvements to the Bezmer base done since it was closed down for an upgrade in February 2014.

These include an extension to the runway, which is now 3 km long (the longest in Bulgaria, previously 2.5 km), and a cargo terminal. Nenchev has asserted that Bezmer now complies with operational standards of NATO, whose forces have been using it since 2006.