Italian authorities agree Turkey is country with most important role in region, says deputy Bozkir

ROME (A.A) - The head of the Turkish Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee and a Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy from Istanbul, Volkan Bozkir, and an accompanying delegation were received by Gianfranco Fini, the president of Italy's Chamber of Deputies, on Tuesday. Bozkir and Fini had a 45-minute meeting behind closed doors at the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Speaking to the AA, Bozkir said that "Fini made important contributions to Turkey's negotiations when he was the Italian Foreign Minister". "Fini is a friend of Turkey. He has spent holidays in Turkey and is a close friend of our President Abdullah Gul. Fini knows our Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," Bozkir said. We discussed the EU's future, Turkey's negotiations process, and the importance of Turkish membership in the EU, Bozkir said. We also discussed the recent developments in North Africa, Bozkir stressed. The issue of Syria came up during our talks. We discussed Syria's future and what Turkey and Italy could do for Syria, Bozkir noted. "Italy paid high importance to the Arab League's decision on Syria. The Italians wait for the decision of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. All Italian authorities agree that Turkey was the country with most important role in the region," Bozkir said. Bozkir and his delegation will meet the head of the Italian Senate's Foreign Relations and Migration Committee Senator Lamberto Dini later on Tuesday.