site.btaForeign Minister Mitov: "No Responsible Politician Must Call into Question Contemporary International Borders in the Region"

Foreign Minister Mitov: "No Responsible Politician Must Call into Question Contemporary International Borders in the Region"

Sofia, October 21 (BTA) - "No contemporary politician must call into question the contemporary international borders in the region," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said in a Facebook status.

"I carefully perused the accurate translation of President Erdogan's statement at the opening of the school year in Rize, Northeastern Turkey. What he said differs substantially from the interpretations of certain media. Let me give you just one example: Mr Erdogan did not mention the city of Varna, as alleged, nor does he speak about any referenda," Mitov writes.

Greek news agency ANA-MPA quoted Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that "the Turkish ethnic lands are not limited to the Republic of Turkey but also include Cyprus, Aleppo, Thessaloniki, Varna and Kurdjali." According to the same report, the Turkish President called for a referendum in Thrace to determine the state in which the residents of the Muslim-populated regions should remain. A little later, the news agency ran a correction, citing the website of the "Sabah" newspapers as saying that the part on Western Thrace in Turkey's National Pact of 1920, which defined the country's present-day borders, stated: "For the peace which will be achieved with Turkey, the legal status of Western Thrace will have to be determined in an appropriate manner as a result of a freely held referendum. Certain historians believe that the borders under the National Pact also include Cyprus, Aleppo, Mosul, Erbil, Kirkuk, Batumi,Thessaloniki, Kurdjali, Varna and the Aegean islands."

"Notwithstanding, the interpretations of certain media have prompted statements by Bulgarian parties and individual politicians. I suggest that they carefully peruse the specific text before urging the Bulgarian Government to come up with an official reaction, because in his speech Mr Erdogan draws a clear distinction between international borders in the region, which he says he respects, and the so-called borders of his heart," the Foreign Minister points out.

"In other words, Mr Erdogan speaks about his emotional attachment to what he calls compatriots in various countries, among which he mentions Georgia, Azerbaijan, Syria, Iraq, the countries of Central Asia, Greece, Bulgaria and all the way to Siberia where, he claims, there are traces of his predecessors," Mitov adds.

"You will agree that I cannot possibly comment on the borders of Mr Erdogan's heart. What could give us a cause for concern, however, is the obvious mismatch between the borders of the Republic of Turkey and the borders of its President's heart. I would like to state in this connection that no responsible politician must call into question the contemporary international borders in the region. This is inadmissible. The borders are definitive, and all states in the region have committed themselves to respect them under international treaties," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov asserts.