Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting, Erdoğan blamed the previous governments for not making any noteworthy progress for Turkey’s EU bid until the AK Party came to power in 2002, which was followed in December 2004 with an EU summit decision giving the go-ahead for opening membership negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.
Touching upon the latest annual progress report on Turkey released by the European Commission last month, which he said was the best report since Turkey started membership negotiations with the EU in 2005, Erdoğan went on to say: “Please understand us correctly; Turkey is coming to the EU to share the burden, not to become a burden for the EU. The EU will have the chance to become a main part of the [UN-led] Alliance of Civilizations co-chaired by Turkey and Spain. That’s why you should understand Turkey correctly, and if an adverse situation occurs, then Turkey will not be the losing party.”
He added that Turkey would continue its reforms through replacing the Maastricht criteria with the so-called “İstanbul criteria,” and the Copenhagen criteria with the “Ankara criteria.”
“We are continuing our accession process into the EU with determination despite all blockings, all unfair implementations and all approaches that have thrown cold water on our enthusiasm,” Erdoğan said.
The prime minister also talked about arguments suggesting the presence of a shift in Turkey’s foreign policy orientation. Some international commentators have argued that Ankara may be slowly turning its back on its Western allies and seeking to regain its status as a regional power in the Middle East.
“The fact that our face is turned towards the West and that we exert sincere efforts for EU membership doesn’t mean that we should turn our back to the East, the South and the North,” Erdoğan said.
In the last few weeks, the international media have given wide coverage to Turkey’s foreign policy in the wake of a crisis with Israel over Gaza and increasing cooperation with neighboring Iran, and Turkey has been accused by the West of harboring aspirations to develop nuclear weapons. Erdoğan’s visit to Tehran last week has been interpreted as an additional factor strengthening a shift in Ankara’s foreign policy axis.
The fact that Erdoğan’s visit to Iran came two weeks after Turkey barred Israel from a NATO exercise -- a decision that angered Israel -- has further prompted such analysis.
On Tuesday, Erdoğan reiterated that Turkey is against all nuclear weapons. An overall goal for getting rid of all nuclear weapons including the ones possessed by those countries who advise Iran not to do so should be embraced by the international community, he added.
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