EU member Bulgaria needs Turkey more than ever
Turkey's influence on the Turks and Muslims in Bulgaria will help the country overcome the lack of stability, while helping it adopt EU values instead of Russian despotism will encourage avoiding forced ties with Russia and feel closer to Turkey
A one-day working visit by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to neighboring Bulgaria brought a couple of forgotten realities to light.
The first is the fact that there are several friends of Turkey who are prepared to display solidarity with Turkey as it goes through a crisis with Russia, as it struggles with a massive Syrian migrant influx and fights secessionist terrorists at home as the world continues to feel the pains of an economic crisis. To the pleasant surprise of Prime Minister Davutoğlu, the ambassadors of several Muslim countries including Palestine, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Qatar turned up at the Sofia airport to welcome him, which was a morale booster for the Turkish delegation - especially considering that Bulgaria is currently torn between its historical ties with Moscow and its place in the Western alliance that also includes Turkey.
It is no secret that Bulgaria was Russia's staunchest ally in the Soviet era and at times they were even more aggressive than Moscow in their communist policies. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Bulgaria was thrown into the lap of the NATO alliance and eventually ended up as a member of the European Union.
Bulgaria's EU membership and its lack of progress in integrating into the union after obtaining massive amounts of funds is clearly manifested in the shabbiness of the capital Sofia, which resembles a Turkish city in the 1970s, to say the least. The city and Bulgaria need a serious facelift while one simply wonders what these people did with the millions of euros that the EU poured into Bulgaria to revamp the country.
Davutoğlu's Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov, seems to be struggling to bring stability to the country, where people have started to question what has happened to all the EU money. The ordinary Bulgarian supports EU membership but has learnt that hardships have come with EU membership, with the population needing to supervise the way funds are being spent by Sofia. The hearts and minds of some Bulgarians are still with the Russians and this has created conflict in a country that is supposed to be a part of the NATO alliance that today is confronting Russian expansionism in Ukraine and hopefully in Syria.
It is under these conditions where Turkey is at odds with Moscow. After the downing of the Russian plane near Syria last month, Davutoğlu paid a visit to Bulgaria.
We privately know that due to the continuing Russian influence in Sofia, the Bulgarians are not over enthusiastic about hosting Turkey but still the two NATO "allies" have managed to put aside potential differences and take up issues ranging from the threat of Syrian migrants flooding into Bulgaria to the minority issues of a large Turkish community living in that country.
Turkey successfully flew the flag in Sofia, gave morale and support to Bulgarian Turks, who are well represented in the Bulgarian parliament, and displayed its support to Bulgarian Muslims by hosting their leaders in talks at the Turkish Embassy.
It was clear that EU member Bulgaria has a long way to go before it becomes an economically viable partner of the EU. Bulgarians have to overcome the psychological bonds that tie them to an aggressive Russia and start embracing the supreme values of the EU. Turkey can actively help in this mission. Turkey can also help to maintain internal stability among the Turks and Muslims in the country.
The first is the fact that there are several friends of Turkey who are prepared to display solidarity with Turkey as it goes through a crisis with Russia, as it struggles with a massive Syrian migrant influx and fights secessionist terrorists at home as the world continues to feel the pains of an economic crisis. To the pleasant surprise of Prime Minister Davutoğlu, the ambassadors of several Muslim countries including Palestine, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Qatar turned up at the Sofia airport to welcome him, which was a morale booster for the Turkish delegation - especially considering that Bulgaria is currently torn between its historical ties with Moscow and its place in the Western alliance that also includes Turkey.
It is no secret that Bulgaria was Russia's staunchest ally in the Soviet era and at times they were even more aggressive than Moscow in their communist policies. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Bulgaria was thrown into the lap of the NATO alliance and eventually ended up as a member of the European Union.
Bulgaria's EU membership and its lack of progress in integrating into the union after obtaining massive amounts of funds is clearly manifested in the shabbiness of the capital Sofia, which resembles a Turkish city in the 1970s, to say the least. The city and Bulgaria need a serious facelift while one simply wonders what these people did with the millions of euros that the EU poured into Bulgaria to revamp the country.
Davutoğlu's Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borisov, seems to be struggling to bring stability to the country, where people have started to question what has happened to all the EU money. The ordinary Bulgarian supports EU membership but has learnt that hardships have come with EU membership, with the population needing to supervise the way funds are being spent by Sofia. The hearts and minds of some Bulgarians are still with the Russians and this has created conflict in a country that is supposed to be a part of the NATO alliance that today is confronting Russian expansionism in Ukraine and hopefully in Syria.
It is under these conditions where Turkey is at odds with Moscow. After the downing of the Russian plane near Syria last month, Davutoğlu paid a visit to Bulgaria.
We privately know that due to the continuing Russian influence in Sofia, the Bulgarians are not over enthusiastic about hosting Turkey but still the two NATO "allies" have managed to put aside potential differences and take up issues ranging from the threat of Syrian migrants flooding into Bulgaria to the minority issues of a large Turkish community living in that country.
Turkey successfully flew the flag in Sofia, gave morale and support to Bulgarian Turks, who are well represented in the Bulgarian parliament, and displayed its support to Bulgarian Muslims by hosting their leaders in talks at the Turkish Embassy.
It was clear that EU member Bulgaria has a long way to go before it becomes an economically viable partner of the EU. Bulgarians have to overcome the psychological bonds that tie them to an aggressive Russia and start embracing the supreme values of the EU. Turkey can actively help in this mission. Turkey can also help to maintain internal stability among the Turks and Muslims in the country.
Last Update: December 17, 2015 01:52