Turkey to increase border control with Bulgaria amid influx of Syrian refugees

Turkey has promised to tighten the control of its border with Bulgaria amid the ongoing influx of Syrian refugees to the EU member state, according to Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev.

“I met with the Turkish Interior Minister. Turkey has made a commitment to tighten the measures along the border, and we have been assured this will happen,” Yovchev has told Parliament.

Yovchev said Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey are seeking to establish a joint control center at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint.

Bulgaria is the gateway to the European Union for refugees fleeing Syria via Turkey, many crossing the border illegally to seek asylum.

The country now receives up to 100 mainly Syrian refugees a day – a sharp increase on the four per month arriving a year ago.