Bulgaria wonders of Turkey’s nuke plans

ANKARA

Rosen Plevneliev (L) receives a military greeting during his visit to Ankara. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

Bulgaria is awaiting more details on Turkey’s planned third nuclear plant, which may be built only a few kilometers from its border with Turkey.

“We have discussed the possibility of constructing a thermal or nuclear plant in a region near İğneada,” Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said, speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül.

“We are looking for more detailed information and solutions to this issue,” Plevneliev added.
Gül said the issue of energy had dominated the talks with the Bulgarian president.

Citing Turkey’s work on nuclear power plants, reports on environmental protection should also be considered in regards to nuclear or gas projects, President Gül noted.

The Bulgarian president expressed his country’s support for the TANAP pipeline project, highlighting the significance of diversifying energy sources en route to Europe.

Turkish-Bulgarian trade volume was nearly 3 billion Euros and the two countries aimed to bring this figure up to 10 billion euros, Gül said.

The two countries had cooperation in several areas such as infrastructure, highways, railways and natural gas pipeline projects, he said. Calling on Turkish firms to invest in his country, Plevneliev said that they were glad that Turkish companies had great interest especially in telecommunication.