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23Mar17

Turkey to reappraise relations with EU

Turkey will continue its economic relations with the European Union but will review all political and administrative ties, including the migrant deal after the upcoming referendum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

In an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, Erdogan slammed that European countries violated the European values by banning Turkish officials from attending rallies.

Turkey made great efforts to develop ties with the bloc and received nothing in return, Erdogan noted.

"The real cause of the problems the EU facing right now is some member states' attitude," he said.

The president stressed that the problems with Europe were caused by some EU countries, while also acknowledging Brexit decision.

The diplomatic row came to a high between Turkey and Germany and other European countries over campaign ban among the Turkish diaspora for the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes.

Erdogan also said he would have "face to face" talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in May, and Syria and Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Islamic preacher blamed for July 15 failed coup, were the top bilateral issues.

Turkey was saddened by the U.S. and Russia readiness to work with the People's Protection Units (YPG) , the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)' s offshoot in Syria, the president said.

Regarding the U.S. and British ban on devices bigger than a cellphone in the cabin on flights from several countries including Turkey, Erdogan said the implementation had damaged mutual confidence and he hoped the mistake would be corrected soon.

One day earlier, Turkish President also criticized the EU member states for tolerating activities of the PKK terror group across the union, urging the EU to respect democratic values and human rights.

[Source: Xinhua, Ankara, 23Mar17]
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