Foreign Ministry

Long queues have been forming as tens of thousands of Bulgarian expatriates in Turkey are voting in Bulgaria's presidential runoff on Sunday.

As many as 20 336 people in Turkey have voted as of 14:00, Foreign Ministry data says. A BNT correspondent showed hundreds lining up before the polling stations.

High ranking officers of the anti-terrorist unit estimate the attack against the French Embassy, Thursday morning, was a well organised operation that was carried out by experienced members of an armed group.

EU Minister Ömer Çelik underlined the need for the bloc to support Turkey's fight against terrorism in a phone conversation with EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Nov. 8, a ministry source said.      

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed the speculation on Nov. 8 about his refusal to twice take the call of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "They think Germany is a superior country and expect us to be ready to take the phone whenever they are ready for that. We are not loafing around here, we also have things to do," Çavuşoğlu said.

Some 106 312 Bulgarian nationals living out of the country have cast ballots in the presidential elections, the Foreign Ministry has said.

Data as of 17:00 Bulgarian time (EET) shows 31 888 people voted in Turkey, 17 864 took part in the UK, and 10 441 in Spain.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç handed over his post to new spokesman Ambassador Hüseyin Müftüoğlu on Nov. 7, officially upgrading the Foreign Ministry spokesperson position to "ambassador" level. 

Turkey has strongly condemned a decision by a Belgian court to reject a request by the federal prosecutor's office to forward a case on 36 people affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to a criminal court.

BELGRADE - Serbian officials have released a Kosovar Albanian who was arrested last week on suspicion of committing war crimes during the 1998-99 conflict in Kosovo.

Sead Spahovic, the lawyer for Hilmi Kelmendi, said on November 3 that his client will "leave jail today" and "is a free man."

Ambassador Hüseyin Müftüoğlu has been appointed as the new spokesperson of Turkey's Foreign Ministry, from his current position as chairman of the South-Eastern Europe Defense Ministerial - Coordination Committee (SEDM-CC).

Müftüoğlu replaced Tanju Bilgiç, who has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Belgrade. 

National Intelligence Service Deputy Undersecretary İsmail Hakkı Musa has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Paris, according to the Official Gazette published on Oct. 28.

Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Kemal Aydın, meanwhile, has been appointed as Turkey's new ambassador to Berlin.