Bulgarian President sends condolences to Erdoğan after fatal bomb blast in Ankara
Bulgarian head of state President Rossen Plevneliev has sent condolences to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after the February 17 bomb blast in Ankara which left 28 people dead and dozens injured, the President’s media office said.
The news of the terrorist attack had left him shocked, Plevneliev said, according to the February 18 statement.
“There is no cause that can justify such a barbaric and inhuman act,” Plevneliev said, adding that he was confident in the professionalism of the Turkish investigating authorities and hoped that very soon the organisers and perpetrators of the bombing would be apprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
“At this difficult moment for the Turkish state, I would like to assure you of the solidarity of the Bulgarian nation and state. Our duty is to continue the war against terrorism and to respond decisively to this global threat in the name of peace and humanity,” Plevneliev said.
He offered his sincered condolences to the families and relatives of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
Soon after the Ankara attack, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and European Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that the EU extends condolences to the families of the victims killed in the attack and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
“Our fullest sympathy goes to the Turkish people and authorities.
“We are with Turkey and its people in these difficult times and stand by all those who suffer from the consequences of such violence, and of terrorism,” the statement by Mogherini and Hahn said.
In Washington, US state department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said that the US strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Turkish military personnel and civilians in Ankara.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed, and we wish a quick recovery to those injured.
“We reaffirm our strong partnership with our Nato Ally Turkey in combatting the shared threat of terrorism,” Toner said.
(Photo: Turkish police secure the site after the February 17 bomb blast in Turkey’s capital Ankara. VOA)
