Turkish foreign minister thanks Turkish community in Bulgaria for solidarity after Feb. 6 earthquakes

Türkiye's foreign minister thanked the Turkish community in Bulgaria on Wednesday for showing solidarity after the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Shumen in the Deli Orman region where the largest Turkish population lives in the Balkans. It is also where Turkish investments in Bulgaria are most concentrated.

Çavuşoğlu held an iftar, or fast-breaking, dinner with the Turkish community at the Şerif Halil Paşa Mosque which was restored by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

"You have mobilized everything you had. Those who have nothing to give sent their prayers to Türkiye. Thanks to the aid, you collected more than 800 tents and 145 containers were sent to the earthquake zone," said Çavuşoğlu. "It was an unforgettable, exemplary solidarity."

Çavuşoğlu said having solidarity from Bulgaria was very important.

He said Bulgaria was the first EU country to send search and rescue teams after the earthquakes and the first in the bloc to fly flags at half-staff.

Turning to Türkiye's efforts to mitigate global and regional crises, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara would strengthen its entrepreneurial and humanitarian foreign policy.

"We will make more efforts for peace. The country that made the most effort to end the war in Ukraine is Türkiye," he said.

Türkiye is in constant contact to ensure no accident happens again at the Zaporizahzhia nuclear power plant, he said. The plan in Ukraine was captured by Russia in 2022 and has been damaged by shelling. "We will also have a meeting with (International Atomic Energy Agency) Director General Rafael Grossi in Vienna on Friday."

On relations with Sofia, Çavuşoğlu said the trade volume was $7.4 billion in 2022. It was $1 billion in the first two months of 2023.