UPDATE - Bulgaria's president thanks Türkiye for firefighting support

UPDATES WITH TURKISH PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE, REVISES DECK

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Bulgarian President Rumen Radev thanked Türkiye on Saturday for its support in bringing fires in his country under control.

"My sincere gratitude to President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan for the timely support of the Republic of Türkiye and the courageous Turkish firemen in the fight against the devastating fires in Bulgaria," Radev wrote on X.

Responding to Radev’s post, Erdogan said on Sunday: "Fighting forest fires is a humanitarian responsibility for all of us. Türkiye will continue to stand in solidarity with its friends in difficult times."

A fire erupted July 13 in the Svilengrad region of Bulgaria – 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the border with Türkiye. The blaze spread to Mladinovo and Mihalic in the south in the following two days, burning tens of thousands of hectares of forest and agricultural land. Türkiye aided its neighbor with the firefighting efforts.

Bulgarian fire brigade and civil defense officials reported more than 200 fires across the country in recent days.