Erdogan hails government's achievements in budget talks

Speaking on behalf of government on 2013 Budget at the Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip  Erdogan said that his government has contributed greatly to the republic and that is has raised it to a higher level. "When we compare the 10-year successful performance of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the entire republican history, some people get uneasy with it. Let everyone know that the AKP is not in a showdown with the republic. The success seen in the last decade is the success of Turkey, its people and the republic," Erdogan said. Touching on the Syria issue, Erdogan said that Turkey did not have a single question concerning the territorial integrity of Syria, but strongly supported the territorial integrity of the war-torn country, adding that Turkey holds the same views on Iraq's territorial integrity. Erdogan also said that Syrians were brothers and sisters of Turks and that Ankara had no problem with Syria but only with the Bashar al-Assad administration.