... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...pledged support Monday for under-fire Venezuelan supremo Nicolas Maduro during a visit to Caracas aimed at strengthening ties with the crisis-wracked South American country.
On his first official visit to Venezuela, the
"Trade restrictions and sanctions are wrong," Erdogan said, warning that such measures would only deepen "instabilities."
"You cannot punish an entire people to resolve political disagreements," the
"Except the Kurds."
Earlier, Erdogan laid a wreath at the tomb of Venezuela's founding father Simon Bolivar, and Maduro also presented him with a replica of the revolutionary leader's sword.
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But the key highlight was Erdogan's speech at the business forum.
With oil production in a tailspin the socialist president has invited
Non-oil trade between the two countries this year reached 800 million dollars, according to Caracas, a not insignificant figure given its serious liquidity problems.
Maduro said
"We are going to cover the majority of Venezuela's needs, we have that strength, I would like to highlight this fact," Erdogan told business leaders.
The South American country has suffered from economic woes since 2014, when a crash in the price of crude prompted a crisis that has sparked an exodus of some two million people.
"I want my visit to be considered as a symbol of collaboration of the
Erdogan's trip had been announced, though without a specific date, during a September 21 visit to Caracas by his foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Maduro travelled to
...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor....
last July for the inauguration of Erdogan's inauguration at the start of a new five-year term as president of Turkey, a country he has led since 2003.