BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 16 (UPI) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a short visit to Lebanon that all Middle Eastern countries need political and economic reforms.
Speaking at a banquet in his honor Wednesday evening, Erdogan said, "Our world today has entered the age of globalization and become more democratic, which necessitates reforms in the Middle East."
Erdogan stressed that achieving "comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East is a priority of Turkey's foreign policy."
Erdogan's 20-hour visit, which started Wednesday, was met with protests by Lebanese Armenians who accuse Turkey of perpetrating genocide on Armenians from 1915 to 1923.
Armenian youth burned tires and the Turkish flag Wednesday to protest the prime minister's visit, demanding that Ankara acknowledge the massacres, in which more than 1 million Armenians died.
