Turkish parliament speaker meets Latvian counterpart in Riga

RIGA (A.A)- Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin on Thursday met with his Latvian counterpart Solvita Aboltina in Latvia's capital, Riga.
Appearing in a press conference after their meeting, Aboltina said Latvia and Turkey had "very important" relations in every field, recalling Turkey's support for her country's accession seven years ago to NATO as a full-fledged member. 
Albotina said her meeting with Sahin took up ways to boost relations between the two parliaments as well development of economic ties and Turkey's European Union membership bid, adding that Turkey played a major role in diversification of Europe's energy supply.
"And in such a meeting like this one, we could not skip recent developments in Turkey's region. Especially after developments in Egypt, we know that Turkey is a very important factor in terms of stability there," Albotina said.
Sahin, on his part, said Turkey was the only democratic country in one of the world's most troubled spots, adding his country assumed important responsibilities to maintain peace both regionally and globally.
"Turkey is aware of its responsibilities and it is exerting great efforts to play its part," Sahin said.  
Sahin said EU membership was a strategic target, expressing gratitude for Latvia's support for the Turkish accession.
The Turkish parliament chief later met with Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis.
(İMB-CE)