Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to begin a two-day visit to Hungary on Thursday. Erdogan is scheduled to meet with his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsany, and other officials including President Ferenc Madl and Parliamentary Speaker Katalin Szili. Erdogan's trip also will include visits to several local Turkish historical landmarks. Hungary recently reiterated its support for Turkey's efforts to join the European Union. Prime Minister Gyurcsany last month said Hungary had a "strategic and historical responsibility" to help Turkey and other aspirant countries like Croatia become EU members, as long as they were able to meet EU standards.
