Bulgaria lauds Türkiye for cooperation in combating irregular migration

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Bulgaria on Tuesday commended Türkiye for its cooperation on the issue of irregular migration, noting that the number of people crossing into the eastern European country has decreased drastically this year.

Cooperation with Türkiye is yielding results in the fight against illegal migration, as the number of migrants crossing Bulgaria's border has decreased by more than 60% compared to last year, said Ivan Demerdzhiev, the deputy prime minister for Public Order and Security and the interior minister.

According to the state-run BTA news agency, he said the two countries' cooperation would be expanded further.

Meanwhile, the news agency reported that Demerdzhiev boarded a military transport flight carrying humanitarian aid to victims of the twin earthquakes that hit 11 southern provinces of Türkiye on Feb. 6.

He will attend a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will award representatives of the foreign teams who took part in the rescue and search operations after the earthquakes, the media outlet said.