During her visit to Athens on July 27, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva voiced support for Greece and Cyprus and reaffirmed Sofia’s position that the sovereign rights of all EU countries must be respected in accordance with international law. She expressed hope for de-escalation of tensions between Turkey and Greece and called for resolving disputes in a good-neighborly spirit, not by unilateral action. 

Zaharieva and her Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias expressed deep regret over the change in the status of the Hagia Sophia temple in Istanbul. 

Bulgaria has asked Greece to open as many border checkpoints with Bulgaria as possible, as well as to complete faster the Rudozem-Xanthi border crossing, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.

Currently, there is only one operating border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Greece at Kulata-Promachonas.