Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's behavior at a Balkan leaders' dinner inNew York City has been construed as a demonstration snubbing Turkey's "dominant role" in the region.
Borisov was one of the top guests of a lavish dinner Thursday hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.
The dinner was attended by some two 200 elite guests from the Balkans and theUSA, including the Presidents of Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Albania, Slovenia; the Foreign Ministers of Romania, Greece, Croatia; the Governor of New York; and numerous businesspeople from the USA and Turkey, reported the special correspondent of the Bulgarian paper Trud Daily.
It cites a diplomatic source as saying that the event was extremely exuberant and about three times as luxurious as a similar reception hosted by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which is taken to be a demonstration of Turkey's political and economic might.
Each of the present Balkan leaders was expected to make a speech. According to the report, Turkey's President Gul was late, and his arrival interrupted the speech already in progress of one of the Balkan leaders. Gul's appearance is said to have caused "an euphoria" and wild applause, with the Macedonian President George Ivanov and the Albanian PM Sali Berisha rushing to hug him.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov, however, is reported to have been the only one of the leaders who did not rise to welcome the President of Turkey.
"Walking between the tables, Gul saw that I was sitting down. He probably understood that this demonstration on part of Turkey is not appropriate for a meeting of equals, and came specially to shake my hand," Borisov told the Trud Daily.
After this initial confusion, Borisov's speech was moved earlier on the list, and he spoke right after the Governor of the state of New York.
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