Bulgarian PM calls Cabinet security council meeting over Syria situation

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has called a meeting of the Cabinet security council for October 15 in connection with the worsening situation in Syria, the government information service said.

The situation in northern Syria “and related regional and international security processes” will be discussed.

Turkey began a military offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria last week, following an announcement by US President Donald Trump of a withdrawal of US forces. On October 14, Syrian military forces began arriving to assist Kurdish forces against Turkey.

At a meeting on October 14, European Union foreign ministers urged Turkey to cease its unilateral military action in north-eastern Syria and to withdraw its forces.

UN agencies said at the end of last week that the Turkish offensive had led to civilian deaths and forced tens of thousands of people to flee, amid fears of another humanitarian catastrophe in war-torn Syria, the UN News Service said.

Facing sharp criticism from EU leaders, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to allow millions of refugees to cross his country’s borders into Europe.

This past weekend, Borissov said that he would call on his colleagues in Brussels to “stop the incessant invective” against Turkey.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister said that there were close to four million refugees in Turkey, and nothing would be able to stop them if they started coming by the hundreds of thousands.

Borissov said that his country had good-neighbourly relations with Turkey, and called for a solution to the situation through diplomacy, a cessation of hostilities and bringing the situation in Syria under control.

(Photo of Borissov: government.bg)

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