ANKARA - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc received on Thursday Albanian Foreign Minister Kastriot Islami.
Arinc stressed cultural and historical ties between two countries, and said that the number of Turkish citizens of Albanian origin was more than the population of Albania.
Turkish citizens of Albanian origin were a bridge between two countries, Arinc emphasized.
Arinc hoped to visit Albania as soon as possible, adding that he considered Albania's inclusion in NATO alliance and NATO's enlargement beneficial.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Arinc had met with his Albanian counterpart in Budapest in February and later in Strasbourg and St. Petersburg.
Islami, who came to Turkey on Wednesday, met with Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul the same day. After their meeting, two foreign ministers held a joint press conference.
Gul, in the press conference, expressed Turkey's wish that Albania would be given a perspective at the NATO summit to be held in Istanbul between June 28 and 29. Islami said that his country wanted Turkey to become a full member of the European Union (EU).
(BRC-AÖ) 10.06.2004