Bulgaria parliament ratifies fighter jets repair deal with Poland

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament ratified on Friday an agreement with NATO ally Poland for the repair of its ageing Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, part of a push by the Balkan country to reduce its reliance on Russia. Under the deal, which Russia has sought to challenge, Poland will lend Bulgaria two jet engines for two years and repair the engines of six MiG-29 jets for an estimated 6.14 million euros ($6.52 million). Bulgaria was Moscow's loyal ally during the Cold War and had a contract with Russia to maintain the jets, but that expired in September and Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev said Poland could now repair the jets at a lower cost. The agreement marks another step by Bulgaria to gradually switch to non-Russian supplies, a trend that has accelerated since the European Union - to which Bulgaria belongs - and the United States imposed sanctions on Moscow over its role in the Ukraine crisis. The deal won support from 130 lawmakers with 41 voting against it. The Russian Aircraft Corporation (RSK) MiG, however, said that the fighter jets could not be repaired in Poland since Warsaw did not have the right to provide spare parts of the aircraft to third countries. Nenchev rejected that, saying Poland had provided guarantees for the much needed repairs. "Poland is the only country that has the economic and the technological capacity to maintain and repair our MiG-29s," he told parliament. ($1 = 0.9417 euros) (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Dominic Evans)