Bosnian leader asks Turks to help Erdogan

By Kayhan Gul

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Sunday praised the Turkish president urging Turks to support him.

"Today you have a person whom Allah has bestowed upon you. This person is Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Help him, support him," said Izetbegovic, speaking at the sixth general assembly of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) in capital Sarajevo.

Izetbegovic said that Turkey is struggling through many challenges but continues to progress.

"Turkey is struggling with millions of refugees and dealing with enemies, both on the inside and outside. However, in spite of everything it continues to progress."

He drew similarities between the two countries.

"We have been together for many years, we lived together, we fought together. The last time in the Dardanelles in Turkey, Bosnians were defending Turkey as their country," Izetbegovic added, referring the 1915 Gallipoli campaign in Turkey's western Canakkale province.

Erdogan arrived in the Bosnian capital on an official visit on Sunday. He was welcomed by flag-waving Bosnian and Turkish citizens in front of the presidency building.

He later addressed more than 20,000 Turkish citizens gathered at the UETD assembly.

Erdogan was awarded an honorary doctorate by the International University of Sarajevo.