Bulgaria’s President, Georgi Parvanov, met Tuesday in Istanbul his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul to discuss energy security and collaboration.

Parvanov is in Turkey to attend the meeting of Heads of State of countries participants in the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), which was launched on Bulgaria's initiative in 1996.

During the meeting, the Turkish side accepted the Bulgarian President’s proposal to organize a three-way meeting between the gas companies of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Azerbaijan to negotiate details about the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria.

Other topics have included the development of trade and investments between Bulgaria and Turkey, the EU inclusion of Turkey, and collaboration within NATO.

Both Presidents have concluded that there aren’t any irreconcilable issues between the two countries, while Gul had accepted the invitation to visit Bulgaria in October.

Parvanov had expressed condolences for the victims of the Tuesday terrorist attack in Istanbul where a remote-controlled bomb hit a bus carrying Turkish soldiers and civilians, killing 5 and injuring at least 12.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), believed to be an offshoot of the PKK Kurdish rebel group, later claimed responsibility for the attack.

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