site.btaBulgaria, Turkiye's Friendship Is Pillar of Stability in Region - Deputy Chair of Turkish Parliament's Defence Committee

During a meeting with Defence Minister Todor Tagarev in Ankara on Wednesday, Refik Ozen, Deputy Chairperson of the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Defence Committee, pointed to the multidimensional friendship and alliance between Turkiye and Bulgaria as the main element of stability in the Balkans, reported Anadolu Agency. Ozen added that strengthening the bilateral relations in all areas would benefit not only Bulgaria, but also the Balkan region and Europe.

Tagarev was in Turkiye at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler.

Ozen said that the war between Russia and Ukraine has various kinds of impact on the countries bordering the Black Sea. He said that Turkiye is making multilateral efforts to establish peace and stability and that all countries are sensitive to the Montreux Convention regarding the Regime of the Straits, as it is of great importance to the security of the region. The Montreux Convention regulates maritime traffic through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits and allows Turkiye to restricts the entry of warships of non-Black Sea states through the Straits in peacetime.

During the meeting, Ozen briefed Tagarev on the Turkish defence industry's accomplishments. "We believe that Turkish companies in the field of defence will make a great contribution to the future modernization projects of the Bulgarian armed forces," he said. Tagarev said that the Bulgarian armed forces' modernization is always open to Turkish companies.

Tagarev's visit to Turkiye also included signing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding cross-border airspace security operations with Minister Guler.