Toptan calls for stronger parliamentary ties between Turkey and Russia

On the first day of a three-day official visit to Russia, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan yesterday met in Moscow with Sergey Mironov, the speaker of the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament. Speaking at a joint press conference afterwards, Toptan called for improved ties with the Russian Parliament, saying stronger interparliamentary bonds would also bring the peoples of the two countries closer. "Interparliamentary relations between Turkey and Russia must be further developed," he said. "Despite the great potential between our two countries, there are some problems. It's good to see a strong will to solve these problems. Once the problems are eradicated, the trade volume between Turkey and Russia will rise." For his part, Mironov said that parliamentary relations would grow stronger as Russian and Turkish officials agreed during the talks on biannual meetings between parliamentary delegations of the two countries. Toptan yesterday visited the Red Square's Kremlin Walls, and laid a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier there. On the last day of his visit, Toptan will visit the Kremlin museum and later proceed to St. Petersburg to hold talks with Vadim Tyulpanov, the head of the city's Legislative Assembly, and visit the Hermitage Museum.