Turkey’s overseas minister hopes to make progress on bettering Ankara’s rocky ties with the European Union on Thursday when he attends a gathering of EU ministers in Brussels for the primary time in 5 years, a supply from his ministry mentioned.
Turkey’s two-decades-old bid to affix the bloc has been frozen resulting from EU considerations over its human rights document alongside coverage disputes within the jap Mediterranean and over Cyprus.
On the similar time, the bloc will depend on NATO member Turkey’s assist, notably on migration points.
Tensions in 2019 between EU-member Greece and Turkey led to Brussels threatening sanctions in opposition to Ankara and slicing off some dialogue channels. Ties have improved since 2021, with high-level talks restarting.
Ankara noticed the EU’s invitation to Overseas Minister Hakan Fidan as an effort to hunt dialogue, the overseas ministry supply mentioned. Deeper ties “with the understanding that Turkey is a candidate nation” would profit each side, they added.
Fidan will convey Turkey’s expectation that the “obligatory will have to be proven and concrete steps have to be taken” to strengthen ties, the supply mentioned.
The assembly will embrace discussions on visas in addition to modernising the EU-Turkey Customs Union, the supply added.
Ankara has been calling for these talks to start out for months, however little progress had been made.
Fidan will maintain separate talks with EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell and the bloc’s commissioner for enlargement, Oliver Varhely, in addition to his Greek, Spanish, Belgian, and Slovak counterparts, the supply mentioned.
Ukraine, tensions within the Center East, the Southern Caucasus and different points have been additionally on the agenda, the supply mentioned.
The go to comes amid Ankara’s repeated criticism of Western allies over what it calls their unconditional assist of Israel within the warfare with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
