Both in the speech she delivered at the Middle East session of the SI meeting and in comments to journalists later, Toker ruled out a change in Turkey’s axis and dismissed fears that Turkey is giving more weight to improving ties with Eastern countries rather than Western ones.
“Turkey is a country that has strong roots in history, and its axis does not change immediately just because a certain party comes to power. Turkey might make some changes in its foreign policy in line with its national interests,” she told journalists.
Toker also noted that the new CHP administration under the leadership of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would be more active in Turkey’s foreign policy, adding that the CHP never opposed Turkey’s EU membership, as claimed by some circles.
When asked what she thinks about CHP efforts to cancel EU harmonization laws by challenging them at the Constitutional Court, she said: “The issue of Turkey’s EU entry must be above parties. The Justice and Development Party [AK Party] government does not ask for the views of political parties and civil society about the reforms it wants to realize. It does not seek consensus.”
