Hungarian PM: Europe needs Turkey

By Emrah Oktay

BUDAPEST, Hungary

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that Europe needs Turkey.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to the Tomb of Gul Baba in Budapest, Orban said the western media is criticizing Turkey "unfairly" and Hungary does not support educating anyone on how to run their country.

"There should be strategic cooperation between Turkey and the EU on security and economy. Europe also needs Turkey," Orban said.

Orban agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Turkey will be among the top 10 economies of the world in the following years.

"We have to cooperate with Turkey as much as we can for the interests of Europe," he said.

Orban also said that the Tomb of Gul Baba is equally important for both the Turks and the Hungarians.

Gul Baba -- which means Father of Roses -- was an Ottoman Bektashi dervish poet and a companion of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

He died in Budapest in the 16th century, when the region was ruled by the Ottomans.

The Ottoman-era tomb was built between 1543 and 1548 in Budapest.

The tomb was restored by a Turkish-Hungarian partnership after a protocol was signed in 2014.

*Fatih Hafız Mehmet contributed to this story from Ankara.