Interviewed by bTV on Sunday, Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Aylin Sekizkok said that the Bulgarian Border Police officer who drew fire from Turkish territory and was killed on the spot was a hero to them and that the Turkish police view him as one of their own. “Our pain is as strong as that of the Bulgarian people,” she said.
The Border Police officer, Sergeant Petar Bachvarov, was killed on November 7 while patrolling the border with Turkey. Two days later, the Turkish authorities arrested two brothers, one of whom confessed to shooting at Bachvarov from Turkish territory through a chink in the border fence.
The Turkish diplomat said the perpetrator of this serious crime would be tried in Turkey with the full force of the law. “To us, Petar is a hero, he fell fighting to protect his country’s border. The Turkish police see him as a brother who lost his life. Right after that extremely bad incident, the Turkish authorities arrested the perpetrator. He is already in prison and I would like to assure you that he will be punished severely for the crime he committed,” the diplomat said.
Talking about the border between Turkiye and Bulgaria, the diplomat said that her country had invested heavily along its borders with Iraq and Syria, with over 1,000 km of concrete walls built, complete with modern technology and equipment. There are 300 electro-optical towers and sensors, thermal cameras and armoured surveillance vehicles, Ambassador Sekizkok said.
Commenting on the arrest in Bulgaria of five suspects of involvement in the November 13 Istanbul bombing, the Ambassador said the Bulgarian and the Turkish authorities were working in close cooperation to establish all details. She declined to comment on the various theories, citing the ongoing investigation.
