Turkish media has been quick to take up on the bad blood between Sofia and Ankara, concerning the demands for compensations for the property lost by tens of thousands of Bulgarians when they were forced to leave lands handed over to Turkey after the First and Second Balkan Wars in 1912-13.

"Bulgaria, which pressed for a ban on Turkish-language news in the last days of the past year, now is pressing a claim for compensations,” writes Zaman newspaper in an article entitled “Sofia too learns to use the weapon called veto.”

The article points out that Bulgaria has threatened to create a further obstacle to Turkey's EU membership hopes by imposing a veto on the country's negotiations.

Sabah and Radical newspapers also publish articles on the topic, entitled “Bulgaria wants 10 billion dollars” and “Bulgaria wants 10 billion dollars in compensations”.

Bulgaria and Turkey concluded a deal in 1925 in which they agreed the value of the lost land and property, but the compensation has never been paid. In 1983 the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry claimed that the assets left behind by the expelled Bulgarians were worth USD 10 B.

Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov, who is responsible for government policy on Bulgarians living abroad, says that considering the years of foot-dragging Sofia is within its rights to demand at least twice as much money.

Turkey began accession talks with the EU in 2005 but progress has been slow, with just 12 out of 35 negotiation chapters opened so far.

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