site.btaTurkish PM Davutoglu Promises His Country Will Transit Azeri Gas to Bulgaria

Turkish PM Davutoglu Promises His Country Will Transit Azeri Gas to Bulgaria

Sofia, December 15 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov conferred here on Tuesday with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is paying a working visit to Bulgaria.

"I can safely say that our border is not under migration pressure," Borissov said at a joint news conference with his guest.

"The visit to Sofia shows our close good-neighbourly relations and our common destiny," Davutoglu said. "We will prioritize our relations with Bulgaria," he stressed. "Our two-way trade will be increased from the current 5,000 million dollars. We will implement major transport projects, including a high-speed rail link between Sofia and Istanbul. We will link Bulgaria to Turkey through an interconnector for the supply of gas from Azerbaijan. We share a commitment to the Turkish population in Bulgaria, which is a bridge between the two countries," he added.

"Borissov has backed Turkey's bid for EU membership, for which we are grateful, and we also discussed regional policies involving Greece as well, and the human tragedy of Syrian refugees. I hope that we will hold a high-level meeting between the two governments in Sofia in April," Davutoglu also said.

Borissov said that Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece have decided to build interconnectors which, together with the Balkan Gas Hub, will achieve genuine diversification and unimpeded flow of natural gas in all directions. "I hope that the transport ministers will invite us soon to the opening of a railway between Bulgaria and Turkey on which trains travel at a speed of 180-190 km/h," he pointed out.

The Bulgarian PM said that signing an agreement on medicines policy had also been on the agenda. In home affairs, work is under way on operations against human traffickers. "There are people who make enormous profits against the background of this human tragedy. I hope that our services will show tangible results in this department," Borissov said.