Turkish lorry drivers organized protest on Tuesday at Bulgarian border crossings due to the raising of transportation taxes by Bulgaria, BTA reported.

Articulated lorry drivers will suspend transports, Anadolu Agency reported. The Union of Turkish Lorry Drivers /UTLD/ has issued a statement saying that "Bulgaria's decision to increase transportation taxes to 271 US dollars (172 euro) per lorry (52 million euro per year) at border crossings - which is unilateral and not in adherence to international law - has been the last straw for Turkish lorry drivers, who are faced with difficulties in any case when passing through Bulgaria. As a sign of protest, the UTLD suspended transports at Bulgaria's border crossings and at Ro-Ro ports."

The Transport Ministry said Bulgaria gave Turkey the second half of the annual contingent of freight transportation warrants on June 25, . The warrants require lorries to pay taxes for transit travel through Bulgaria. The taxes amount to 83 euro for articulated lorries and 58 euro for lorries with two axles. Bulgaria says that Turkey was notified of this during the sittings of the Joint Bulgarian-Turkish Committee of International Road Transport in April (Sofia) and June (Ankara), and has been recorded in the minutes of those meetings.

The Ministry said that, according to the 1977 agreement between Bulgaria and Turkey on the transit of people and goods registered in either country through the other, that they will be taxed according to the tax laws set by the other country.