ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey supported Macedonia's NATO membership.
Interviewing with Macedonian Information Agency (MIA), Erdogan said that Turkey attached importance to Macedonia's security, stability, welfare and territorial integrity.
Underlining the significant progress Macedonia had made to integrate with Europe and Euro-Atlantic organizations, Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to share its experiences with this country.
Erdogan stated that bilateral trade should be improved between Turkey and Macedonia, and recalled that the bilateral trade volume was 201 million USD in 2004, which was not the real potential of the two countries.
Stressing the importance Turkey attaches to improvement of cultural relations between both countries through realization of concrete joint projects, Erdogan said that efforts could be exerted for safeguard of historical artifacts in Macedonia, including those inherited from the Ottoman era.
In his interview, Erdogan added that he wanted to visit Macedonia soon.