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Syria, refugees, and gas ... Erdogan is nervous… Borissov replies

Photo: EPA/BGNES

On October 7 in an interview for ARD television, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she had always been against Turkey's full membership in the EU. She is against as Turkey's population reaches 75 million people. Almost all are Muslim as Christians were massacred there some 100 years ago. Immediately after the interview, in the European Parliament, Merkel said that "Turkey played a key role" in the future solution of the refugee crisis and that Turkey should make "tremendous efforts" in welcoming more than two million refugees. For this Turkey would receive “strong support for providing housing and needed supplies for the refugees, strengthening border security and for combating trade in human beings."

In case it is not clear - the federal government would do everything to keep the refugees in Turkey for an indefinite period of time. Refugees would have no chance to change the Turkish asylum for German.

The opinions of Berlin and Sofia match over this issue. Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov believes that refugee quotas are not a solution to the refugee crisis. At a EU summit on refugees in Brussels, Borissov said that it was “better for the European Union to pay Turkey to hold those people close to their homelands because anyway we pay for these, who have already entered Bulgaria," BGNES news agency reported.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the EU recognized the efforts of the poorest EU Member State and the fact that it spends enormous funds from its budget for coping with the refugee crisis. Speaking to the members of the European Council, Borissov said that the EU must take joint actions on the issue immediately. "We need to discuss and find long-term solutions to the problem. Relocation and resettlement are only temporary measures, but they can not bring a lasting solution to the problem,” reads the Bulgarian position, presented by PM Borissov.

More than two million refugees need jobs and hope for better future for their families. In short, the refugees should stay where they are - in Turkey.

Moscow believes that the incident with the two-seat multi-purpose fighter jet Su-30, which on October 3 after a combat mission entered briefly into Turkish airspace, had no negative impact on Russian-Turkish relations, as they stepped on a firm base. It is unclear whether the assessment of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the same. "Turkey is a major buyer of Russian gas, but if necessary, we will get it from other sources. This would be a great loss for Russia,” he nervously said. He spoke in the same manner about the agreement with "Rosatom" for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey. "If the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant was not built by the Russians, others would build it," he said. Speaking about the recent plane incident Erdogan said he was annoyed by what had happened, but had no plans to discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Recently Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told NTV television, owned by Gazprom-Media, that he was shocked by a speech of Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov, who said Bulgaria abandoned energy projects with Russia, including the "South Stream," in the interest of the United States. “It's amazing that people are not worried by such statements. I would be ashamed speaking to the voters this way," the minister added.

Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov should not be ashamed as he did not even stop these projects. After his meeting with Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul Borissov commented on the criticism of Lavrov. According to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, when there was something wrong he always disclosed it, no matter if the issue concerned Americans or Russians, as he was honest with the voters and they elected him because of this. These projects were not well planned and he had to cancel them, he said.

To put it straight, Borissov should now pay so much attention to the Russians, and should not be afraid. The danger comes from Turkey because the irritated successor of the Ottoman sultans wants to become a major regional power. Erdogan wants to weaken Iran and to end the regime of Bashar Assad. That is why Turkey indirectly used the Islamic State. Moreover, Ankara has been fighting with Kurds at home and tries to stop them from getting independence in Iraq. The situation with the Kurds is quite complex and this is evident from the fact that Erdogan has been trying to make the Kurdish organization look similar to the Islamic State.


English translation: Alexander Markov




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