• Prof. Dr. Ahmet Acar, President of Middle East Technical University

• Prof. Dr. Ivan Ilchev, Rector of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"

• Prof. Dr. Eyüp Özveren, Dean of Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, METU

• H.E. Branimir Mladenov, Ambassador to Ankara, the Republic of Bulgaria

• Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık, Head of the Department of International Relations, METU

The Establishment and Consolidation of Turkish‐Bulgarian Diplomatic Relations

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Evgueni Radushev, Department of History, Bilkent University

Speakers:

• Associate Prof. Dr. Valery Kolev, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, “Protocol Problems in the Diplomatic Relations between the Bulgarian Principality and the Ottoman Empire, 1879‐1908”
• Assistant Prof. Dr. Ebru Boyar, Department of International Relations, METU, “Turkish ‐ Bulgarian Relations in the Early Turkish Republic: The View from Ankara”

Discussant: Bilâl N. Şimşir, Rtd. Ambassador.

11:20 ‐ 12:00 First session continues with discussions

12:00 ‐ 13:30 Lunch (METU’s Cafeteria)

13:30 ‐ 16:30 SESSION II:

Turkish‐Bulgarian Relations from Tranquility and Tension to Cooperation

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Bağcı, Department of International Relations, METU

Speakers:

• Associate Prof. Dr. Iskra Baeva, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, “Bulgarian ‐ Turkish Relations in the context of Bulgaria's Policy in the Balkans in the 1960s and 1970s”
• Associate Prof. Dr. Evgenia Kalinova, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, “The Problems in Bulgarian ‐ Turkish Relations in the 1980s”
• Dr. Birgül Demirtaş‐Coşkun, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Başkent University, “Turkish‐Bulgarian Relations in the post‐Cold War Era: An Exemplary Relationship?”

15:00 ‐ 15:20: Coffee Break

Discussant: Associate Prof. Dr. Emel Oktay, Department of International Relations, Hacettepe University

15:20 ‐ 16:30: Second session continues with discussions

16:30 ‐ 16:45: Concluding Remark:

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş, Department of International Relations, METU, “Continuity and Change in the Turkish‐Bulgarian Relations (1990‐2009)”

Organizers: Prof. Dr. Mustafa Türkeş, METU; Prof. Dr. Plamen Mitev, Dean of Faculty of History, Sofia University;  Funda Hülagü, Research Assistant, METU; Oben Kuyucu, Research Assistant, METU

For Papers and other inquiries contact: turkes@metu.edu.tr Tel: +90 312 210 3098 or funda@metu.edu.tr Tel: +90 312 210 3094

The Symposium is held with the kind assistance of the Bulgarian Embassy in Ankara