site.btaTurkish Interior Minister: Anti-illegal Migration Mechanism with Bulgaria, Greece to Turn into More Effective Cooperation against Cross-border Crime

The trilateral mechanism for combating illegal migration between Bulgaria, Turkiye, and Greece will be transformed into more effective cooperation against cross-border crime, new-generation organized crime groups, and drug trafficking, said Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci in response to a question from BTA.

Ciftci paid a working visit to Bulgaria on Tuesday, during which he held a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart, Ivan Demerdzhiev. Also, the police academies of Bulgaria and Turkiye signed a memorandum of understanding.

Following the bilateral meetings and the subsequent joint statement to the media, the Turkish delegation took a brief walk through downtown Sofia, visiting the Office of the Chief Mufti and the Banya Bashi Mosque.

Speaking to BTA, the Minister highlighted some key points from his bilateral talks, specifically emphasizing the mechanism adopted some time ago between Bulgaria, Turkiye, and Greece to combat illegal migration. He underscored that the three neighbouring countries plan to focus their efforts on transforming it into more effective cooperation.

Another topic discussed Tuesday concerned the heavy traffic at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, with Ciftci stating that, from Turkiye’s perspective, the busiest border crossings are Kapıkule-Kapitan Andreevo and Hamzabeyli-Lesovo due to the return of his compatriots from Europe in the summer. In this regard, he appealed to the Bulgarian authorities to assist Turkish workers and his compatriots across the border. “We requested assistance in transitioning to a flexible work model during periods of heavy traffic, so that our citizens can quickly cross from Turkiye into Bulgaria,” he told BTA.

According to the Turkish Interior Minister, Demerdzhiev said that Bulgaria would do everything possible on this matter and its authorities would provide the necessary assistance and facilitate travel for those crossing the border.

Minister Ciftci also addressed the European Union’s decisions regarding freight vehicles, noting that an agreement had been reached with the Bulgarian authorities on this issue as well to reduce restrictions to a minimum and to provide facilitation for Turkish truck drivers engaged in transit. 

The visiting minister expressed confidence that productive visits such as Tuesday’s would lead to more concrete results in the coming days and expressed hope that the next meeting with Minister Demerdzhiev would take place in Istanbul.