NEW YORK - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech on "the Alliance of Civilizations" at the Levin Institute in New York State University on Tuesday as part of his visit to the U.S. for the general assembly meetings of the United Nations.

"Since the attacks of September 11, we have witnessed that a discourse reined in which risked further polarization. It is easy to divide, disintegrate and destruct. The hardest thing which is universal and human and also which we should pursue is to build, bring together and hold together," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said that over a hundred countries and international organizations have become members of the Alliance of Civilization since 2005 when Turkey and Spain launched the project to bridge differences between the East and the West through international, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and cooperation.           
"The Alliance aims at contributing to the efforts to end attempts to impose one's values upon others and to bring objective principles," Erdogan said.