Bolivia set to open embassy in Turkey amid growing ties

By Mumin Altas</p> <p>CARACAS (AA) – Bolivia plans to open an embassy in Turkey to cement bilateral relations, Turkish presidential sources said late Wednesday.</p> <p>The agreement on opening the embassy was reached at a meeting between Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales Ayma in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.</p> <p>During the meeting, they acknowledged that significant progress had been made in their countries’ relations after Turkey opened an embassy in Bolivia last year.</p> <p>The two countries agreed that the Bolivian embassy should be opened in the first half of this year.</p> <p>Both Oktay and Morales emphasized that cooperation between Turkey and Bolivia should be increased, especially in the area of defense.</p> <p>Separately, Morales said Bolivia fully supports Turkey in its fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the terror group behind the July 2016 defeated coup.</p> <p>FETO and Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of the terror group, orchestrated the defeated coup in Turkey of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.</p> <p>Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.</p> <p>In addition, Oktay presented Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's invitation message to Morales to visit Turkey.</p> <p>Oktay arrived in Venezuela’s capital late Wednesday to attend President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration ceremony.