On Thursday 25 January, Turkey's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ömer Çelik called for a joint summit to be held between the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
During a press conference in Brussels, Çelik said a Euro-Islamic summit could bring strong messages to the world on establishing peace and integration. He stated that as an EU accession candidate country and current chair of the OIC, Turkey could play an important role in such a summit being held.
In an interview with French news agency AFP, Çelik spoke about his country being an EU candidate, saying "it was not acceptable to suggest recommending a solution other than full accession, such as a privileged partnership". He regretted the "stalemate" in current relations between his country and the EU. "Turkey does not avoid working on the subjects of human rights, the rule of law or the freedom of expression (...) Let's sit down together and work on them!", he also suggested. The EU had criticised the rule of law situation since the attempted coup in July 2015.
Speaking to press, Çelik also said it was not necessary to make a distinction between the Western Balkans (which are the subject of great EU attention) and Turkey. "Turkey is a strong Balkan country and shares the same outlook with the EU", he said. Furthermore, in Çelik's view, the positions of the EU and Turkey are the same on many issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Burma and Crimea. "The approach in terms of common foreign policy could be further developed", he said.
Çelik also criticised the Europeans' response to the Turkish operation in the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in Syria (see EUROPE 11944). "What we want to hear is that they are alongside Turkey and concerned for its security", he said. "I can't imagine terrorists at our border", he added. Although High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini was concerned about the humanitarian situation, Çelik replied that his country "was among the most transparent when it came to humanitarian access". (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)