Bulgaria Issues Diplomatic Note to Turkey for Soup Commercial

A TV soup commercial produced by a Turkish company for a TV channel in Germany has caused a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Bulgaria. The commercial in question was made for Baktat, a famous food wholesaler in Europe, and was claimed by Bulgaria to be derogatory in content and show hostile relationships between Turks and Bulgarians. It is a story about Turkish workers on their way to Europe in order to promote the soups.In the commercial, a Serbian or Bulgarian policeman blocking the way of a guest worker says, "Neighbour; money or soup?" and demands 100 Euros. The Turkish worker replies, "Neighbour; why soup money? The real soup is here. Here is soup for you" and hands 3-4 packages of prepared soup from the car. The Bulgarians transmitted the diplomatic note to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara through the embassy. The Foreign Ministry transmitted it to the company. Baktat spokesman, Kadir Baklan said that they hadn't planned for the commercial to resemble a country in any way shape of form. He added that the commercial had no political slant on it all.Â