Relationship dossier
Turkey
Bulgaria
Relationship assessment
NATO allies with practical cooperation on border management and energy
Turkey toward Bulgaria
+45Turkey has cooperated with Bulgaria on border and migration management and concluded a 2023 arrangement allowing Bulgarian gas buyers access to Turkish gas infrastructure. These measures support practical cooperation with Bulgaria.
Bulgaria toward Turkey
+40Bulgaria has worked with Turkey on border and migration management and entered a 2023 gas arrangement with Turkish state-owned BOTAŞ, securing access to Turkish infrastructure for gas supplies.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship combines sustained security cooperation as NATO allies with practical coordination on migration and a significant energy arrangement. The 2023 gas agreement reflects a durable mutual interest in energy connectivity, while historical and political sensitivities remain secondary features of the bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and Bulgaria maintain a substantially cooperative relationship shaped by NATO security cooperation, practical coordination on migration and border management, and energy ties. A 2023 agreement gave Bulgaria access to Turkish gas infrastructure, providing a concrete basis for bilateral energy cooperation. Historical and political sensitivities remain, but they do not outweigh the sustained practical partnership.
Key developments
Bulgaria and Turkey concluded a 13-year gas arrangement allowing Bulgarian buyers access to Turkish gas infrastructure.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral security and border-management cooperation are unclear.
- The longer-term effects of the 2023 gas arrangement on bilateral energy ties are uncertain.