Turkey key factor in Middle East stability, says head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee

Turkey is a key factor for security in the Middle East, Zsolt Németh, head of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said in Strasbourg on Monday.

Turkey’s April 2017 referendum on introducing the presidential system was a success given its smooth transition, Németh told MTI by phone on the first day of a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

He said the vote itself was “undoubtedly” a democratic success even if he would “not put in parenthesis” his reservations concerning the rule of law surrounding the plebiscite.

From the point of view of Turkish stability, the manner and mode in which the CoE helps the country’s democratisation process is of key importance, he said, adding that the CoE had “a broad and sophisticated” array of means for promoting democracy, including respecting linguistic and minority rights and fighting corruption.

Meanwhile, on the topic of Macedonia, he said notwithstanding low participation in the popular vote on the country’s change of name, there was a strong political commitment in the country to make the necessary constitutional changes. ”

It’s now Europe’s turn to speed up the country’s integration,” he said, adding that failure to do so would have negative consequences for stability in the Western Balkans.

Featured image: MTI

Source: MTI