EU Refuses To Grant Membership To Ankara For Political Reasons - Turkish Foreign Minister

Ankara is ready to fulfill all the requirements for joining the EU, but the bloc does not grant membership to Turkey for political reasons, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday during his visit to Brussels

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) Ankara is ready to fulfill all the requirements for joining the EU, but the bloc does not grant membership to Turkey for political reasons, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday during his visit to Brussels.

"We are always ready to fulfill the requirements for joining the EU. There are four criteria left to be met, but the main complaints against us are related to political reasons. The customs agreement with the EU is beneficial for all parties, but, unfortunately, it is still bogged down. The agreement on the transition to a visa-free regime must be implemented," Cavusoglu said at a press conference.

The minister added that Ankara expected the EU to take concrete steps on the issues, as well as on the fight against terrorism.

"Turkey keeps its word. The EU also needs to do this. We agreed on a roadmap, on the basis of which concrete steps on relations between Turkey and the EU will be taken," the diplomat added.

Negotiations on Turkey's full accession to the European Union began in 2005. However, the relations between Brussels and Ankara deteriorated throughout 2020 due to long-standing disagreements over Islamic extremism and human rights, as well as a major feud around Turkey's gas drilling in Greek- and Cypriot-claimed territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean.