Turkish parliament speaker meets Belarusian president

By Ali Cura

MINSK, Belarus (AA) - Turkey’s parliament speaker met the president of Belarus during his official visit to Minsk on Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.

Binali Yildirim and Alexander Lukashenko met at the Freedom Palace to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The two politicians also exchanged views on their countries' efforts for the trade volume to reach over $1 billion in the near future.

Yildirim also underlined that it is important to strengthen economic, cultural and technological ties.

Turkey was the first country to recognize the independence of Belarus and diplomatic relations were established in 1992.