Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has made it clear that there is no justification for continuing to block Turkey’s entry process into the European Union (EU), in statements made during the 5th summit of the European Political Community being held in Budapest, where European leaders have addressed issues such as irregular immigration or Europe’s economic security, but also global current affairs such as the war in Ukraine or the tense situation in the Middle East.
In a speech to the summit, quoted by Turkish media, the Turkish president stressed that Turkey’s full membership of the EU is absolutely key to the peace and security of the European bloc. ‘There is no reasonable justification for blocking the EU accession process of a candidate country like Turkey, which has long made an important contribution to the prosperity and security of Europe,’ Erdoğan recalled, also mentioning the challenges and consequences of the war in Ukraine.
In this respect, the Turkish leader stressed that the continuation of the war increasingly limits the options for peace, despite which Ankara continues to maintain contacts with both sides to ‘make room for diplomacy’ and try to find a negotiated solution to the conflict, through contacts held in recent weeks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and with the new Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.
‘Turkey’s support is essential to find solutions to the problems of all kinds that affect Europe and beyond’, the Turkish president insisted, calling on his European colleagues for more “concrete cooperation in the fight against the PKK terrorist organisation”.
In addition to relations between Turkey and the EU, Erdoğan also referred to the situation in the Middle East, insisting that it is ‘essential to immediately establish a ceasefire and to put pressure on Israel at all levels so that humanitarian aid reaches the region uninterruptedly and sufficiently’. On another key issue, the recognition of the Palestinian state, the Turkish president thanked ‘the steps taken by Ireland, Norway, Spain and Slovenia in this direction, and I congratulate them on behalf of my country and my people’, calling for more European countries to follow suit.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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