ANKARA
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy from Istanbul and Director General of Association for International Blacksea Caspian Cooperation, Ismail Safi was granted with Moldova State Order of Merit by Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti in a ceremony held at Moldovan Embassy in Ankara on Tuesday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Moldovan President Timofti said that Turkey has had a role in the events which developed in her region and Turkey is seen as a significant leading country in the region.
President Timofti also said: "We lived together for a long period. But nobody would impose another language on us and ban our mother tongue. However, after 1940s we have experienced it. We had to speak in another language, another grammar and alphabet. I had to use Russian in all official documents during the 20 years of my term of office."
AK Party deputy Safi, speaking at the ceremony, said that he was also granted with a great responsibility together with the State Order of Merit in developing the cooperation between Turkey and Moldova.
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