EU should adopt more fair, prudent attitude towards Türkiye, says Turkish foreign minister

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the EU should adopt a more fair and prudent attitude towards Türkiye, according to Turkish diplomatic sources on Monday.

Fidan and EU’s commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement Oliver Varhelyi held a phone call on Sunday and discussed the conclusions of the EU General Affairs Council on enlargement on Dec. 12, and the outcomes of the EU summit held in Brussels on Dec. 14-15.

The Turkish foreign minister, according to the sources, said it was not appropriate to postpone the discussion of the joint communique prepared by the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Türkiye-EU relations to next EU summit although it was scheduled to be discussed at last week's summit.

He said the EU should act from a strategic perspective and advance its relations with Türkiye, especially in the current era of intensified global challenges.

Fidan reminded that Türkiye expects the EU to take concrete steps on issues such as updating the Customs Union, increasing cooperation on investments, and providing visa facilitation, the sources said.