Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a videoconference with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

According to a statement by Turkish presidency, steps aimed at enhancing the relations between Turkey and the European Union were discussed and regional developments were addressed.

Erdoğan said the EU was high on Turkey’s agenda, and that they saw Turkey’s future in Europe.

Stating that Turkey wanted to turn a new page in its relations with the EU in the new year, Erdoğan noted that due to the caprices of some EU member states and the artificial problems created by them, no one could make the most of 2020, and that this situation was not sustainable in terms of the relations’ future and the vast shared geography.

Underscoring that the most important tool that could be used in the first stage for a positive agenda in Turkey-EU relations would be the updating of the March 18 agreement, Erdoğan said that 2021 offered a productive atmosphere in terms of new cooperation to be built in the field of migration.

Further stating that the Customs Union should be updated, visa liberalization should be provided to Turkish citizens and steps should be taken in terms of membership negotiations, Erdoğan stressed that the mutual trust should be restored, the mechanisms of consultation should be re-operated and exclusivist and discriminatory acts and rhetoric against Turkey, which he noted was a candidate country in negotiation process beyond being a neighboring country, should be brought to an end.

Erdoğan stated that he deemed it beneficial to restart regular Turkey-EU summits and high-level dialogue meetings. (ILKHA)