Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu have addressed several demands to Brussels at the Southeast European Co-operation summit being held in Antalya. Çavuşo .lu said that in any possible case, Turkey will insist on the importance of the region’s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.
“Strengthening the perspective of membership in the European Union of the member states of Southeast Europe is our common goal. The EU can only become a global player when all the countries of Southeast Europe join. Therefore, I urge that there be no hesitation when it comes to the opening of negotiations in Tirana and Skopje, so as not to repeat the same situation that follows with the delays that have been caused to our country on the path to EU integration.
President Erdogan said it is not possible for the European Union to exist as a center of gravity and power without Turkey as a full member.
“Despite all the injustices we have faced, we now want to finalize our quest for full membership, which we have continued with perseverance and patience for half a century. “We hope that the European Union will get rid of its strategic blindness as soon as possible and move the accession process forward within the framework of a positive agenda.”
The Turkish head of state said that the countries of Southeast Europe do not have the luxury of watching from the rostrum what is happening with the irregular emigration inflows. According to Erdogan, racism, Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, growing phenomena on a global scale, are becoming increasingly a national security problem.
