Turkish Ambassador Repeats Demand for Syria Safe Zone

Turkey's request that a safe zone be set up in Syria is a step toward addressing the root cause of the migrant crisis, the country's Ambassador to Bulgaria has said.

"If this problem isn't solved, as you see with the events of the last months, things are starting to have a more complex nature and the problem is spreading," Suleyman Gokce told the Bulgarian National Radio in an interview.

Gokce noted the developments in Turkey were also having their influence on Bulgaria.

He reiterated Ankara had spent some USD 7.5 B on tackling the migrant crisis, with more than 2 million refugees (most of them from Syria and 300 000 from Iraq) on its territory, while receiving just USD 600 M in return.

Bulgaria has been among the staunchest advocates of Turkey's safe zone proposal and also of giving more EU money to the country for a more efficient response to the migrant crisis.

Turkey's Ambassador cited World Bank data, which showed remittances of Bulgarians working in Turkey to their homeland were about USD 800 M a year, as an examole of intense bilateral relations.

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