The European Union (EU) expressed the intention to deepen cooperation with Turkey and resolve disagreements in the near future.
Foreign Ministers of the EU countries gathered in the capital of Belgium Brussels, currently presiding in the EU, to an informal meeting.
At the end of the meeting, one of the points of the agenda of which was relations with Turkey, the Supreme Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Haja Labib made joint statements for the press.
He in his speech noted: “All EU member countries agree to closer relations with Turkey.”
The EU Supreme Representative continued with the following words:
“We need to interact with Turkey, taking into account the Cyprus question in order to avoid conflicts and expand cooperation. We need to interact more with Turkey, work in the areas where our interests coincide, and avoid the questions that move us away”. /p>
Answering the question of whether the EU is ready for progress in issues such as the liberalization of the visa regime, Borrell said: “Everyone agrees that we need to strengthen relations with Turkey, but this will depend on the course of the event. I I don’t know what exactly will happen on a visa issue, it has not been discussed today. But the general opinion is that we need to more positively interact with Turkey, even to solve the Cyprus problem, which is in the first place in our agenda, since Cyprus is a member of the EU “.
– Türkiye is becoming an increasingly important strategic partner in the world arena
“Turkey is becoming an increasingly important strategic partner in the world arena,” said Labib Foreign Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Turkey is an indispensable partner,” Labib emphasized, adding that in the near future they would like to discuss disagreements on issues such as the rule of law, democracy, independence of the judicial system and Cyprus.
Labib noted that the EU will invite Turkey to an event that will be organized in April in honor of the 20th anniversary of the EU expansion in 2004, when the 10 countries joined the EU.