Ottoman State and the Kingdom of Bulgari relationships (29 September-12 October 1915)

After the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria had lost most of its achievements in the Fisrt Balkan War and The Ottoman State had succeeded in retaking Edirne from Bulgaria. When Bulgaria could not get the support it expected from the Great Powers, it agreed with The Ottoman State to sign the İstanbul Treaty. With İstanbul Treaty, the diplomatic relation between two countries returned to normal. However, after The Ottoman State and Bulgaria put the İstanbul Treaty into practice, They started to have disagreement again. At firstly, problems arose during the determination of the newly defined Ottoman – Bulgaria frontier. There were also disagrements about the demarcation of the Meriç River. Apart from the fact that, it was decided to Exchange Turkish-Muslim and Bulgarian villages along 15 km border line of the two countries with the Edirne Agreement. According to this agreement, the movable and immovable properties of the exchanged villages wiil be compensated. However, the issue of compensation for the exchanged villages and properties has not been resolved. İn addition, Muslims in the lands left to Bulgaria faced difficulties in matters such as national status and military service. Meanwile, with the outbreak of the First World War, the relations between the two countries began to take shape according to this situation. The Ottaman State was taking softer and more caution political steps for Bulgaria to join the Alliance Bloc with Germany. The Kingdom of Bulgaria also used this situation as a trump card aganist The Ottoman State and succeded in getting The Ottoman State to sign a new boundary convention. Some changes were made on the Ottoman-Bulgaria boundary line with Border Correction Agreement Germany was also influential in the signing of the this agreement. Because Germany saw it as an necessity for Bulgaria to join its Alliance Bloc. Therefore, The Ottoman State was willing to make some comprimise for Bulgaria participation in the Alliance Bloc. Key Words: Ottoman State, The Kingdom of Bulgaria, İstanbul Treaty, Case of Boundary, Edirne Agreement, Germany, Border Correction Agreement.