Turkey's Parliament Speaker Visits Albania

Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek met with Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, and President, Bujar Nishani, on Wednesday.



Cicek told reporters that he discussed the Armenian diaspora's intense efforts against Turkey in his meetings with Albanian officials.



He said that there are those trying to deceive the world by leading them to believe that Turkey "committed genocide in 1915."



"There are intense efforts on the part of the Armenian diaspora to force parliaments to recognize Turkey's alleged genocide against the Armenians. We convey to our interlocutors that we are ready to face our history with regards to this event -- but this issue should not be moved to legislatures. The primary duty of a parliament is to build for today and for the future," he said.



"As a result of our meeting, I would like to express with satisfaction that Albanian authorities have agreed with Turkey on this issue," he added.



Cicek also announced that Turkey asked to host a permanent center for the inter-parliamentary assembly of the Balkans, which he noted has neither a center nor a lasting structure.



He stated that he wrote a letter to his counterparts in the Balkan countries and requested that the secretariat of the inter-parliamentary assembly between Southeastern European states be based in Istanbul.



He added that the assembly's first five year budget would be supplied by Turkey.



The third important issue discussed in the meetings was the Cyprus issue.



Cicek requested that countries evaluate the issue in a fair way and support Turkey's position.



"The Greek Cypriot administration's uncompromising attitude of escaping from negotiations has brought us to this point," he said.



Conflict in Iraq and Syria



Cicek stressed that the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the fourth subject of his meetings, needed to be well understood.



"In the meetings, I explained Turkey's sacrifices in the region and our efforts to establish peace and security," he concluded.



Cicek and his delegation left the country via the Mother Teresa Airport.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Saraybosna