Bulgaria is ready to pay the F-16 fighter transaction at once, the Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov said in an interview for FOCUS News Agency. On Monday an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers to update the budget will be held.

He emphasised that the fiscal reserve is in good enough levels and Bulgaria will be able to afford to pay the deal cumulatively.

"The amount we have to pay on the contract for the purchase of the new arms for the Bulgarian army is significant. The payment which needs to be made at once in the course of our talks with the US side is about $ 1.2 billion. This amount is not reflected in the State Budget Act, so we are planning an extraordinary meeting on Monday to look at the already concluded contracts between the Bulgarian and the American side by offering them to the National Assembly for ratification. In parallel, we plan to propose an update of the State Budget Act to increase the expenditure side and provide the necessary funding for this project, "the Finance Minister explained.

Vladislav Goranov added that the physical delivery of the new equipment is expected to be in 2023. Bulgaria is also working on two more projects related to the acquisition of new capabilities - land troops and the fleet, he said. The Finance Minister assured that Bulgaria has money for the deal with the first eight fighters and will not borrow any for the acquisition.