Federica Mogherini made the comment at a joint news conference with EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara.
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Mogherini said the talks in Ankara had been “frank, open, respectful and constructive”, touching on issues including deepening a customs union and supporting Turkey as it copes with an influx of some 3 million Syrian refugees.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday identified the European Union’s stance on failing to open new negotiation chapter as “weakness” as the union can not stop Cyprus from blocking Turkey’s membership process.
Cavusoglu said Turkey is helping ongoing Cyprus peace talks and expects the European Union to do more as well. Cavusoglu added: “We must work together because there are problems that emerge that affect all our people. So this is why maybe this expectation was somehow raised in this framework, because indeed we see a window of more than hope for this issue to be solved in a proper way in the coming months”, she said.
Omer Celik, Turkey’s Minister for EU Affairs maintained that Cyprus issue should not be related to the opening of new chapters in his country’s EU course. “And as a candidate country we have to apply higher standards”. He said chapters 23 and 24 of the accession process-covering justice and rights and freedom and security-should be opened as soon as possible and that a settlement to end the division of Cyprus would help this.
A key problem in visa liberalisation has been anti-terror laws in Turkey, which Brussels says need to be narrowed. Its membership has traditionally been a cornerstone of Turkish foreign policy.
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Cavusoglu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke over the phone Saturday, said sources from the ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity. After meeting Erdogan late on Thursday, Stoltenberg said a “strong and democratic Turkey is essential for the stability and security of Europe and the region”, according to a statement released by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
