One of the important issues that the first Bulgarian government, headed by Todor Burmov, had to resolve in the field of foreign policy was the establishment of official diplomatic relations with Turkey. According to a report of the first Bulgarian foreign minister Marko Balabanov, on June 19, 1879, a Decree was issued on the opening of “an agency of the Principality in Istanbul”, published in State Gazette on July 28. The decree also envisaged the opening of diplomatic agencies in two other neighbouring countries, Serbia and Romania. This decision set the beginning of the diplomatic activity of the first Bulgarian government after the Liberation. Under this decree the agent in Istanbul was allotted ten thousand francs annual salary, four thousand francs entertainment allowance, and four thousand for office expenses and servants.

In view of the complicated tasks facing the two countries, at the suggestion of Prince Dondukov, as diplomatic agent in the capital of Turkey was accredited Dragan Tsankov – one of the most prominent figures of the time, who had worked for many years in Istanbul, knew the country and was himself known to the circles there. In 1879 the term “diplomatic” with reference to the Bulgarian representatives was still avoided in the official Bulgarian documents for tactical reasons. The representatives were called just “agents”, but they performed diplomatic functions.

On September 5, 1879, Prince Alexander Battenberg signed a letter to the Grand Vizir about the appointment of Dragan Tsankov as Bulgarian diplomatic agent in Istanbul. “I request Your Excellency,” the letter read, “to kindly trust him for all messages he may give you and facilitate his mission, as the instructions he has been given are aimed at seeking the most adequate means for the achievement and development of the good relations, which must exist between the Suzerain Court and the Principality.”

The instructions given to the Bulgarian diplomatic agent in Istanbul, which Battenberg mentioned, contained 14 points outlining the major issues to be settled between the two countries. These were above all the state borders, the refugees, the vakif properties, the railways, and the debts. Other points in the instructions assigned Tsankov to clarify how the Ottoman government construed article 62 of the Berlin Peace Treaty, which provided a free exercise of “the freedom of religion and the hierarchic structure of the Christians”, as well as convince the government “not to obstruct the Bulgarians living in Asia Minor (in Brusene Vilayet) who want to depart for Bulgaria”. If this demand finds favour with the Ottoman government, “the Principality government, too, is willing never to obstruct the emigration of the Turkish population from the Principality, when they request so, and will facilitate this emigration”.

There was only one point on which the Bulgarian diplomatic agent should be firm. Pursuant to article 10 of the San Stefano Peace Treaty, Turkey was entitled to a military way across Bulgaria for communication with its large dominions. The Bulgarian diplomatic agent should, according to his instructions, repulse any such intention, “because Bulgaria today is not what the San Stefano Peace Treaty made it”.

By Decree 114, Dragan Tsankov was officially appointed as agent of the Principality of Bulgaria in Istanbul, and a little later, by Decrees 173 and 174 were appointed first secretary, secretary assistant and office clerk: Kiryak Tsankov, Alexander Lyudskanov, Nikolay Genovich.

The news about the appointment of the first Bulgarian diplomatic agents in Turkey, Serbia and Romania was received with satisfaction by the Bulgarian public, which saw in this act a manifestation and recognition of the independent existence of the Principality of Bulgaria and a significant success of its government in its efforts to establish regular diplomatic relations with its neighbours.

The Sublime Porte and some Great Powers construed the provisions of the Berlin Treaty to mean that Bulgaria was not entitled to independent foreign policy and tended to take the commissioning of Bulgarian diplomatic representatives to neighbouring countries, although called just “agents”, as violation of this treaty. The European countries, however, did not back up the Porte’s protest against the appointment of Bulgarian diplomatic representatives in Serbia and Romania, thus suggesting to Turkey to accept the realities.

The series of unsettled bilateral issues of mutual interest called for an urgent settlement of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Bulgaria. Turkey accepted Dragan Tsankov as agent of the Principality of Bulgaria and in time agreed the Bulgarian agent in Istanbul to correspond directly with the Sublime Porte, rather than with the Office for Privileged Provinces. Initially, the Turkish government insisted the Bulgarian representatives in Istanbul to contact the government through the minister of the interior and not directly through the foreign minister, referring to the fact that the Principality was in tributary relations with the Ottoman Empire. The Bulgarian agent in Istanbul reacted sharply to the suggestion to communicate with the Sublime Porte through the Office for Privileged Provinces rather than directly with the Turkish Foreign Ministry, and said this decision of the Turkish government was an infringement of the rights of the Principality and he would not answer letters sent to him by the said office. As a result of mutual efforts and search for ways to overcome this problem, the Porte recognized the right of the Bulgarian representative to communicate directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which the Bulgarian side received as an act of goodwill for further development of the bilateral relations in all fields.

To maintain its relations with the Principality of Bulgaria, initially the Turkish government used the commissioner for vakif property Nihad Pasha, appointed under Art. 12 of the Berlin Treaty.

In the beginning of August 1879, the Turkish foreign ministry informed the Bulgarian government that the Sublime Porte desired to appoint its agents in Rousse, Varna, Turnovo and Sofia, but the decision on this matter was postponed.

The Bulgarian government referred to the resolutions of the Berlin Congress, according to which the Ottoman state was entitled to have only a vakif commissioner in Bulgaria and did not recognize the trade agents appointed by the Porte in Vidin, Varna and Rousse, adding the argument that their rights and obligations were not clearly formulated. Similar was the position of the Bulgarian government on the request to appoint a trade agent in Sofia, where there was already a commissioner on the vakifs.

After the appointment of Dragan Tsankov as prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the Principality, in mid-1880 the Bulgarian government decided to fill the vacancy of Bulgarian diplomatic agent in Istanbul with Marko Balabanov, former foreign minister and member of the Court of Cassation. The foreign minister of Turkey, Abedin Pasha declared that the Sublime Porte was not willing to accept M. Balabanov owing to “his writings about Turkey”. This position of Abedin Pasha did not foil but only postponed the appointment, which entered into force on June 27, 1880.

By a letter of August 1, 1880, Prime Minister Dragan Tsankov assigned the newly appointed diplomatic agent in Istanbul Marko Balabanov to make every effort to solve the problem with the transit passage of Bulgarian goods through Turkey. Although on the strength of the Berlin Treaty Bulgaria did not take customs-duty on goods passing in transit to Turkey, Turkey imposed customs-duty on the goods crossing its territory to Bulgaria, which was, in the words of Dragan Tsankov, “disastrous for Bulgarian trade”.

At the end of the same year, by a letter of December 23 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ecclesiastical Matters the Bulgarian diplomatic agent in Istanbul received instructions to propose to the Turkish government the conclusion of a postal convention between the two countries. The absence of such convention greatly impeded the correspondence and exchange of parcels between Turkey and Bulgaria. The citizens and institutions were forced to send letters, parcels and money transfers via Romania or Trieste, or use the Austrian postal stations in Rousse and Varna. The Bulgarian diplomatic agent was also instructed, should the Turkish government agree to this convention, to inform immediately the Director of the Imperial Posts that in Bulgaria a draft agreement was being prepared on the fees, ways of exchange and the details of the service, and ask him to provide a copy of the Turkish international and domestic postal tariffs.