In an interview with “TRT Haber,” the Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş, spoke about the normalization of relations between Turkey and its neighbors, among other issues. To the following assessments on whether Turkey’s normalization of relations and friendship groups will be established with Egypt, Armenia, and Syria, Kurtulmuş gave the subsequent evaluations.
“We have no problems with the peoples of the countries with which we have political issues. Even when we think our relations have reached a breaking point, there is no question of enmity or conflict in the Turkish nation. The tension does not come from us; there were points where relations broke down, and there were times when there was no dialogue, but at the end of the day, these are the countries you mentioned, and the people of all the other countries are our friends, some are our neighbors, some are ours—the brothers. Therefore, as a natural result of friendship with the peoples of these countries, Turkey expects to resolve political issues quickly, remove these issues from the agenda and strengthen bilateral relations based on interests. In this regard, protecting our national interests, we also develop our relations with those countries by the expectations of the friendly and brotherly peoples of those countries.”
Kurtulmuş noted that it is necessary to strengthen and advance parliamentary diplomacy by working closer together, restoring friendly groups and mutual visits.
