site.btaEU Should Back Turkiye’s, Bulgaria’s Efforts in Tackling Migratory Pressure, Says Celalettin Guvenc

“Instead of criticizing Turkyie, the European Union should increase assistance for our two countries in order to tackle migratory pressure,” said Celalettin Guvenc, chair of the Committee on Internal Affairs at the Turkish Grand National Assembly, speaking to journalists in the southern town of Kardzhali on Saturday.

He said that Turkiye has taken a number of steps to control the borders including increasing police presence.

Guvenc said that currently Turkiye is hosting over 4 million refuges and is one of the countries which is affected worst by the migratory crisis. Traffic of people and goods across the border between Turkiye and Bulgaria is the most intense, he added. Guvenc cited the good cooperation with Bulgaria and the steps taken by the Turkish authorities in the case of the shot Bulgarian border police officer and by the Bulgarian authorities in detaining one of the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on Istiklal in Istanbul. 

In addition Guvenc said that over 2.6 million Bulgarians have visited Turkiye and the bilateral commercial exchange exceeds USD 7 billion.

A delegation, led by Guvenc, visited Kardzhali, Southern Bulgaria, on Saturday.