Speaker of Bulgaria's Parliament in Ankara: Türkiye will build monument to murdered border guard Petar Bachvarov

An international EU-Turkey summit on migration issues to be organised by Bulgaria. This was agreed in a face-to-face meeting between Vezhdi Rashidov and his counterpart in Ankara, Mustafa Şentop, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly on December 19.

Speaker of Bulgaria’s Parliament, Vezhdi Rashidov, also announced that Türkiye will build a monument dedicated to the murdered Bulgarian border guard Petar Bachvarov, on the border between the two countries.

Rashidov said that this was what Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Çavuşoğlu, told him at their meeting in Ankara today, December 19.

The unpleasant incident at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, in which a Bulgarian border policeman died, was not politics, but an accident, the Parliament Speaker stressed. In his words, the Turkish Foreign Minister proposed to make a monument to the Bulgarian border guard at the border.

At the talks, Mevlut Çavuşoğlu confirmed that Bulgaria has always been a good mediator between Europe and Turkey. Vezhdi Rashidov noted that regarding migration it would be good if Bulgaria hosted an international summit and Europe, Türkiye and Bulgaria together solve the problems with this border. If we do not have an influx by today, it would be good if we all sit at the table and solve the problems that Bulgaria, Turkey and Europe have, he stressed.

Bilateral relations between our countries are good, diplomacy between Bulgaria and Turkey is active, Rashidov said. The Speaker of the Parliament recalled that President Rumen Radev had given his word to increase the capacity of the border check points because this, besides bilateral exchange, is important for trade, transport and business of the EU with all the counries in the region.

Images by Press Office of the Parliament

With the knowledge that Türkiye is taking care of four million migrants, Vezhdi Rashidov committed to mediating talks with the EU, as he had in 2018 under Borissov's cabinet.

"The most reliable border is the Turkish-Bulgarian border in these years since migration existed. I feel that Europe has matured, Turkey has also matured and is ready for diplomacy. It is also now carrying out such diplomacy," Rashidov said.

The Turkish Parliament Speaker confirmed that migration used to be seen only as a problem in countries where there is migration, but after the war in Ukraine this has changed.

"With the Ukraine-Russia war, it has become clear that this issue is global and does not only affect individual countries. After the war started, Ukrainians fled first to neighbouring countries, but then to other countries. Europe woke up!", he said.

The Parliament Speaker's visit began with a tribute to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He wrote in the book of the mausoleum that he was bowing down to the builder of modern Türkiye.

Türkiye mobilises security forces to find the person who killed a Bulgarian border police officer

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