Bulgarian Nationalists Lash Out at President over Turkey Vice-PM Informal Visit

Bulgarian nationalist party Ataka will consider whether President Rosen Plevneliev's informal meeting with Turkish Deputy-PM Bekir Bozdag last week gives ground for an impeachment procedure, stated Ataka leader Volen Siderov.

"We are very worried by the inofficial visit of the Turkish Vice-PM in Bulgaria, given that no information was released regarding who invited him," said Siderov Monday.

Bozdag, who is in charge of policies regarding Turkish communities abroad, visited Bulgaria last week on the occasion of the great Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayrami).

He travelled to a number of Bulgarian cities, including centers of regions with sizeable ethnic Turkish population, and informally met senior Bulgarian statespersons, including President Plevneliev.

The meeting with Plevneliev raised some controversy, when it turned out that no Bulgarian journalists are allowed in.

The Anatolian Agency also reported that Bozdag had expressed worries about the maintenance of Ottoman heritage sites in Bulgaria and had offered for Turkey to take care of their restoration.

"We will investigate whether Plevneliev's meeting with the Turkish Deputy-PM constitutes treason, and if it does, we will start an impeachment procedure," commented nationalist leader Siderov Monday.