Turkey backs 'legitimate demands of Arab nations' deputy pm says

YAYINLAMA
GÜNCELLEME
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay on Sunday said Turkey has always supported and would continue to support the "legitimate demands" of Arab countries. "The Arab world is going through a rapid process of change. The Arab nations have legitimate demands for democracy and human rights, which we have always supported and will continue to support," Atalay told a panel discussion focusing on relations between different cultures in Doha, Qatar, as part of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum (UNAOC). Atalay said Turkey has much experience when it comes to welcoming and tolerating different cultures, and added that the country has been a "model" since the Ottoman times. "Respect and tolerance for different cultures are in the genes of Turks," Atalay told the panel on "A New Paradigm on Managing Relations between Different Cultures," which was co-hosted by Turkey and Australia.