Albanian president visits Ankara

Albanian President Bamir Topi yesterday met with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Afterwards, Gul told a joint press conference that Parliament has just passed a protocol regarding Albania's membership to NATO and that he signed the protocol during his meeting with Topi. Stating that Turkey is working to promote Albania's NATO membership, Gul said, "I hope other countries will do their part before next year's summit so Albania can participate in the summit as a full member." Topi also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Gul hosted a dinner in Topi's honor at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.