Despite all the injustices facing Turkey on the part of the European Union, joining the 27-nation club remains its strategic priority, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, urging EU ambassadors to advise their countries on opening a new page in relations. Turkey and the EU, the Turkish English-language Hurriyet Daily News quoted him as saying without editorial intervention.
"Despite all the injustices we face, (full membership in) the European Union remains our strategic priority. In fact, we continue to strive in this direction, "Erdogan said at a meeting with EU ambassadors on January 13th in the Turkish capital.
Erdogan recalled observing all stages of Turkey's process of applying for full membership over the past 20 years as prime minister and president, including "hypocrisy, injustice and fabricated political obstacles."
"We hope that the European Union will get rid of strategic short-sightedness in 2022 and act more boldly in developing relations with Turkey," he suggested.
"As a candidate country, we are ready to step up our cooperation and dialogue with the EU. It is in our common interest to act with a long-term strategic perspective, not with prejudices or fears, "Erdogan said.
Formal negotiations between Turkey and the EU to join the bloc began in 2005, but the process was de facto suspended by Brussels due to "the candidate country's inability to meet the required membership criteria." Turkey says it is a political decision and calls on the EU to adopt a more adequate and honest approach to Ankara.
Erdogan criticizes the EU for delaying talks on modernizing the customs union and visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, expressing hope that progress could be made on these issues in 2022. "We have not seen the answer we expected from the EU, the EU. despite all the steps we have taken, "he said, recalling co-operation between turkey and the eu is crucial for the entire region.
Some EU countries have halted improvements in Turkey-EU ties, Erdogan said, accusing Greece and Cyprus of trying to sabotage Ankara-Brussels contacts.
"The EU must not sacrifice its ties with Turkey in the name of solidarity," he said.
The Cyprus issue, which was not resolved due to the ambitions of Greek Cypriots in the 1960s, remains an obstacle to Turkey-EU relations, Erdogan said, criticizing Brussels for neglecting the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
"The EU must deliver on the promises it made to Turkish Cypriots in 2004," he said, referring to Brussels' intention to launch direct trade with the northern part of the island, which approved a plan by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"It is time for the EU to make a sincere self-criticism. If the EU really wants to contribute to the solution, it must fulfill its commitments in 2004, recognize the existence and will of the Turkish Cypriots and evaluate the proposal for a solution presented in Geneva. Otherwise, it will be seen as a new distraction and will mean nothing but a waste of time and energy, "Erdogan warned.
Those who can look at the problems through an objective lens will realize Turkey's key role in overcoming many of the threats facing the EU, Erdogan said, recalling that new migration flows to the European continent have been halted thanks to Turkish efforts.
"Without Turkey's extraordinary efforts, Syria and Europe would face a different landscape. "Turkey's self-sacrificing efforts have prevented the picture from deepening," he said.
"Turkey has not received EU support in its fight against the migration crisis. "We have implemented resettlement projects that the EU could not handle on its own," he added.
Erdogan explained that Turkey's efforts in the Syrian province of Idlib have halted a new influx of migrants to its borders and Europe, reiterating Turkey's calls for more economic and political support from the EU.
"Our expectation from the EU regarding migration is a fair sharing of burdens and responsibilities," he said.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey's military operations in northeastern Syria have prevented the Kurds from creating a "terrorist corridor" along the country's southern borders. Erdogan also called on the EU to stop the inhumane and illegal expulsions of migrants from Greece to the Aegean.
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