Turkey calls on Georgia to free detained crew

During the meetings, Sahin said over one million people of Caucasian origin living in Turkey established a bridge of friendship between the two countries.

"Turkey has sincerely supported Georgia's stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity after it declared its independence, and will continue to do so," Sahin said.

Sahin said Turkey considered Georgia a significant partner for the stability of the South Caucasus.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Sahin said trade volume between Turkey and Georgia climbed from 900 million to 2 billion USD from 2000 to 2009.

However, two countries were sometimes facing problems, particularly because of problems some Turkey-linked ships were having in Georgia, Sahin said.

"There are five ships in Georgia at the moment, their crew were released but we want the ships to be freed soon," Sahin said.

Also, Bakradze said two countries had similar political interests, and defined Turkey as the most important trade partner of his country.

Bakradze said Georgia was supporting Turkey's steps for stability in the Caucasus.

The Georgian parliament speaker said he was expecting more Turkish businessmen to invest in Georgia.

"We faced some problems regarding ships but they entered a forbidden zone, we are ready to solve this problem by finding a formula," Bakradze said.

Bakradze also invited Sahin to his Georgia.

Sahin later hosted a luncheon in honor of Bakradze.

/World Bulletin/