Turkey relations crash with yet another country
Date
2/24/2016 9:20:59 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Turkey’s Islamist Justice and Development Party-ruled government’s poor international relations have taken another blow as it and Bulgaria expelled their diplomats from their respective countries.
Turkey retaliated to Sofia’s decision to declare Turkish attaché Ugur Emiroglu “persona non grata” by expelling Bulgarian diplomat Zornitsa Petrova Apostolova Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on Tuesday.
“There is no doubt Turkish diplomat Ugur Emiroglu who was declared persona non grata in Bulgaria has been carrying out tasks connected with the Turkish intelligence” said General Kircho Kirov former director of the Bulgarian National Intelligence Service speaking to Bulgaria’s Radio Focus.
Kirov said Turkey’s intelligence agency the National Intelligence Organization sought to establish a base for agents in Bulgaria. “It aims at reviving the neo-Ottomanism in a new modern way” he said.
Valeri Simeonov co-chairman of the Rightist Patriotic Front told Radio Focus Turkish intelligence was working with the local Muslim community.
“Ugur Emiroglu is one of the narrowly profiled agents of the Turkish intelligence who work in the field of religious activities.
He was mufti in Bursa Trabzon Gulhane and Strasbourg” said Simeonov.
Sunni Turkey’s relations are tense with the Shi’ite Iranian axis that includes Syria. Relations with Syria ally Russia tanked when Turkey downed a Russian jet last November.
Ankara’s relations with Israel are poor though there are rumors of a possible rapprochement.
Relations with Europe are also tension filled mainly due to the latest refugee crisis.
Meanwhile Turkey’s ruling AK Party remains determined to forge a new constitution and a cross-party parliamentary commission which collapsed last week after the opposition walked out should continue work Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday.
The main opposition party in Turkey The Republican People’s Party pulled out of the commission meant to draft the new constitution protesting attempts by the AK to strengthen the role of the presidency.
Separately former Turkish president Abdullah Gul and ex-foreign minister Yasar Yakis both from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party were removed from the list of the party’s founders after criticizing the president Today’s Zaman a Turkish news site reported on Monday quoting a report by news portal haberdar.com.
by Ariel Ben Solomon
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