Turkey

Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Sunday his institution will cancel some "less relevant" public procurement procedures to ensure a more efficient spending and transparency.

All crossing points on the border between Bulgaria and Greece are open to traffic both ways as of Sunday morning, Bulgarian police say.

Lyutvi Mestan, the expelled leader of Bulgaria's predominantly ethnic Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), said on Saturday that his new political project, DOST, will be 'a radical, pro-NATO and pro-EU party'.

The ad-hoc parliamentary committee set up to probe alleged interference of Russia and Turkey into Bulgaria's domestic affairs could only worsen Sofia's relationship with both Moscow and Ankara, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

Turkey has begun work to repair a pipeline taking crude oil from northern Iraq to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and aims to restore flows in the shortest possible time, the Turkish energy ministry said on Feb. 27. 

It was a blunder to set up an ad-hoc committee in parliament to probe alleged interference of Russia and Turkey into Bulgaria's domestic affairs, a lawmaker from the main party in the governing coalition has opined.

Russia and Turkey are fighting for control over Bulgaria's Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) political party "in a proxy battle in their wider conflict", Victor Kotsev writes in an article for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail published on Friday.

"The fight threatens to destabilize further the European Union's southern border," the author says.

Turkey was on Feb. 27 closely following a landmark U.N.-backed cease-fire in Syria that came into effect at midnight in the war-torn country.

Turkish Air Force F-16s continuously patrol the Turkish-Syrian border with the cease-fire largely holding amid reports of some minor clashes and attacks.

The day has come. The ceasefire in Syria agreed to by the U.S. and Russia started last night. To put it more precisely, it is expected to start, as the deal hardly goes beyond a humble wish for the time being.

A spectre is haunting Europe, once again nowadays - the spectre of who is calling the shots in the old continent. The epic struggle between European capitals and Brussels is approaching a critical juncture. Like so many times in European history, Turkey's stance will be critical in deciding the fate of the continent.