PRIME Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg pushed hard in wide-ranging talks in Turkey to boost bilateral relations, but political uncertainty in Bulgaria's neighbour meant his visit produced no important agreements.
Saxe-Coburg's visit from October 4 to 6 was a reciprocal sequel to the visit to Bulgaria by his Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit in January.
In a series of talks, Saxe-Coburg touched on a broad array of issues ranging from political stands on international problems to joint ventures and social security and visa regulations.
Faced with a deep economic crisis and related volatile political situation, Turkey is to hold parliamentary elections next month.
The Turkish parliament agreed on October 1 to postpone all decision-making until after elections and leave them to the discretion of the new government.
Among the variety of issues raised, two were given special importance: Bulgaria's expected invitation at the NATO Prague Summit in November and the opinion of the two countries on the Iraqi problem.
As a long-standing member of the North-Atlantic Alliance, it is hoped Turkey's support will carry special weight at the summit.
At meetings with Ecevit, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliamentary Speaker Omer Izgi, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Saxe-Coburg repeatedly received support for Bulgaria's bid for NATO invitation.
"Our friends and US allies plan to undertake military actions against Iraq," Ecevit said. "Last week, the Iraqi government adopted all UN resolutions and Turkey hopes the US will assess all these measures against Iraq. A military conflict in the region threatens all countries in the region, including Turkey."
On his return, Saxe-Coburg said Bulgaria was reluctant to grant overflight rights and provide military bases for a potential assault against Iraq without a preliminary UN sanction.
"I think it would be much wiser to ask ourselves what one can possibly find in Iraq after Saddam, instead of talking about attacks. The right way for Bulgaria is to adhere to the UN and comply with the internationally adopted procedures."
"With my presence here, I wish to emphasise the importance of Bulgarian-Turkish relations," Saxe-Coburg said.
"I think that the co-operation between the two states has a vast room for development and plays a stabilising role in this part of the region."
Saxe-Coburg said that with his visit, he would aim to settle unresolved issues between the two states. Among the pressing issues for Turkey were relaxations in the visa regime.
Although Bulgarian tourists have unilaterally been extended visa-free access to Turkey, Bulgaria cannot do likewise due to undertaken EU commitments and Schengen regulations. Still, Saxe-Coburg said Bulgaria would consider the extension of multiple-access visas for Turkish businessmen with Schengen visas.
Bulgaria in turn, insisted on the settlement of several social insurance issues, among which were the readmission problem along with the reimbursements of payments for Bulgarian expatriates in Aegean Sea region of Turkey. The topic topped the agenda on a meeting with 10 associations of emigrants from Bulgaria on Saturday. The groups represented the interests of as many as 300 000 emigrants.
"The most important thing we want is that migrants from Bulgaria who are going to retire on pensions be allowed to add the length of their service in Bulgaria to the length of service in Turkey," Gultekin Karaman, president of Balkanlilar, a society of Bulgarian Turks that suffered from repressions under the regime of Todor Zhivkov.
On a separate note, Bulgaria and Turkey agreed to continue co-operation in the fight against drug and people trafficking, and organised crime. Bulgaria also pledged to undertake restrictions against the Kurdish ethnic minority.
The issue of the Upper Arda cascade was postponed until after the Italian company Enelpower made its evaluation on the feasibility study on the plant in November. Ecevit said Turkey was following the matter closely. The two sides agreed on the readjustment of the bilateral energy agreement aimed at gradually reducing the volume of energy export to Turkey.
More immediate prospects tackled were the construction of Bulgarian highways, the Maritza highway being among the target projects. Several Turkish construction companies pledged to take a more serious attitude to the issue. Established businesses such as Ramstore chain of supermarkets pledged expansion of their business.
Saxe-Coburg's visit from October 4 to 6 was a reciprocal sequel to the visit to Bulgaria by his Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit in January.
In a series of talks, Saxe-Coburg touched on a broad array of issues ranging from political stands on international problems to joint ventures and social security and visa regulations.
Faced with a deep economic crisis and related volatile political situation, Turkey is to hold parliamentary elections next month.
The Turkish parliament agreed on October 1 to postpone all decision-making until after elections and leave them to the discretion of the new government.
Among the variety of issues raised, two were given special importance: Bulgaria's expected invitation at the NATO Prague Summit in November and the opinion of the two countries on the Iraqi problem.
As a long-standing member of the North-Atlantic Alliance, it is hoped Turkey's support will carry special weight at the summit.
At meetings with Ecevit, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliamentary Speaker Omer Izgi, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Saxe-Coburg repeatedly received support for Bulgaria's bid for NATO invitation.
"Our friends and US allies plan to undertake military actions against Iraq," Ecevit said. "Last week, the Iraqi government adopted all UN resolutions and Turkey hopes the US will assess all these measures against Iraq. A military conflict in the region threatens all countries in the region, including Turkey."
On his return, Saxe-Coburg said Bulgaria was reluctant to grant overflight rights and provide military bases for a potential assault against Iraq without a preliminary UN sanction.
"I think it would be much wiser to ask ourselves what one can possibly find in Iraq after Saddam, instead of talking about attacks. The right way for Bulgaria is to adhere to the UN and comply with the internationally adopted procedures."
"With my presence here, I wish to emphasise the importance of Bulgarian-Turkish relations," Saxe-Coburg said.
"I think that the co-operation between the two states has a vast room for development and plays a stabilising role in this part of the region."
Saxe-Coburg said that with his visit, he would aim to settle unresolved issues between the two states. Among the pressing issues for Turkey were relaxations in the visa regime.
Although Bulgarian tourists have unilaterally been extended visa-free access to Turkey, Bulgaria cannot do likewise due to undertaken EU commitments and Schengen regulations. Still, Saxe-Coburg said Bulgaria would consider the extension of multiple-access visas for Turkish businessmen with Schengen visas.
Bulgaria in turn, insisted on the settlement of several social insurance issues, among which were the readmission problem along with the reimbursements of payments for Bulgarian expatriates in Aegean Sea region of Turkey. The topic topped the agenda on a meeting with 10 associations of emigrants from Bulgaria on Saturday. The groups represented the interests of as many as 300 000 emigrants.
"The most important thing we want is that migrants from Bulgaria who are going to retire on pensions be allowed to add the length of their service in Bulgaria to the length of service in Turkey," Gultekin Karaman, president of Balkanlilar, a society of Bulgarian Turks that suffered from repressions under the regime of Todor Zhivkov.
On a separate note, Bulgaria and Turkey agreed to continue co-operation in the fight against drug and people trafficking, and organised crime. Bulgaria also pledged to undertake restrictions against the Kurdish ethnic minority.
The issue of the Upper Arda cascade was postponed until after the Italian company Enelpower made its evaluation on the feasibility study on the plant in November. Ecevit said Turkey was following the matter closely. The two sides agreed on the readjustment of the bilateral energy agreement aimed at gradually reducing the volume of energy export to Turkey.
More immediate prospects tackled were the construction of Bulgarian highways, the Maritza highway being among the target projects. Several Turkish construction companies pledged to take a more serious attitude to the issue. Established businesses such as Ramstore chain of supermarkets pledged expansion of their business.
