US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will open a visit to Sofia April 27 whe she is expected to sign the agreement for deployment of US military bases in Bulgaria.

In the end of April Sofia is hosting an informal meeting of foreign ministers of NATO states.

According to Lyubomir Ivanov, Bulgarian envoy to NATO, the bilateral agreement finalized March 24 is a broader framework within which the two countries will cooperate in the field of defense.

He reminded the three bases where US militaries will be deployed remain Bulgarian territory.

Some ten parallel agreements will be signed, Ivanov said, to regulate the relations in specific sectors, such as environment, employment, customs, etc.

It was agreed that the US will be allowed to use three Bulgarian military bases - the Novo Selo shooting range and the Bezmer both near Bulgaria's border with Turkey, and the Graf Ignatievo airfield in central Bulgaria. US forces will also use a storage facility near Bulgaria's port of Burgas.

The sites will be used for the training of 2000 to 3000 US soldiers.

The agreement, which will be valid for ten years, must be ratified by Bulgaria's parliament. Then Bulgarian President must sign a decree to be promulgated in the State Gazette for the agreement to become effective.

On the US side, the signature by the Secretary of State would complete the procedure, as it does not require US Senate ratification, Lyubomir Ivanov explained.

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