Turkish-EU relations, which suffered serious crises over the past years, finally gained a new dimension on March 26. Bulgaria, which currently holds the EU term presidency, took a decent step and organized the Turkey-EU Summit in Bulgaria's port city of Varna. Even though such a summit was supposed to be organized much earlier, it is still a positive step.

In recent years, the Turkish public has been disappointed by the EU and were about to lose its trust and belief in the bloc. The EU has not kept the promises it made to Ankara and fabricated false claims such as that Turkey is no longer interested in joining the EU, although the EU has been the one sabotaging Turkey's accession process.

Nevertheless, all the Turkish authorities who speak on the subject, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, say that they did not give up their EU membership objectives and Turkey will not throw in the towel.

So far, Ankara has not given up its target of joining the EU due to the importance it attaches to the bloc's values even though the EU has been wasting Turkey's time for decades.

The Turkish public has also been disturbed that the EU does not support Turkey's counterterrorism fight and condones the activities of terrorist groups across the EU. The EU did not even remain loyal to the refugee agreement it signed with Ankara, which disappointed the Turkish people greatly.

Turkish people, including Turkish Cypriots, were incensed due to the EU's double standards and unjust practices that contradict its values such as the obstruction to renewing the customs union agreement and the refusal to lift visa requirements for Turkish nationals. If President Erdoğan were one of the populist politicians we have seen often in Europe in recent years, he could end relations with the EU since he has public support in this respect. But Ankara has not thrown in the towel due to the importance it attaches to EU values and its determination to join. This is a great chance for the EU. Today, many politicians in the EU who lack a vision and seem uninformed about EU values object to Turkey's EU membership without seeing that they are actually undermining their own future. The EU and Turkey can have a bright future together.

For this reason, the meeting between Erdoğan, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Varna raises our hopes for the future. We were waiting for such a dialogue for a long time. The statements issued by the leaders after the summit were also good.

President Erdoğan said that he hoped to have taken the first step with regard to re-establishing trust between Turkey and the EU, which sums up the significance of the summit. It is, of course, still too early to say anything. Following the summit, Erdoğan articulated the issues between Turkey and the EU that must be negotiated and listed Ankara's expectations:

"The first step with regard to re-establishing trust between Turkey and the EU has been taken. However, steps need to be taken more concretely. It is widely known that Turkey has fulfilled its responsibilities on irregular migration more than enough. Four million Syrians are in our country now. Four billion euros was promised to be funded and 1 billion euros has been paid to the relevant positions.

"Our working paper on visa liberalization was presented to the European Commission in early February. We also said to the EU that the work must be finalized as soon as possible. It would be relieving for us if the EU takes a step in this respect as soon as possible. This must not be turned into a political issue and shake our citizens' trust in the EU.

"We have also expressed our expectation as to the update of the customs union. Urgent needs cannot wait.

"Another important aspect is terrorism. Turkey has been targeted by various terrorist groups. Last year, we rendered 3,000 terrorists ineffective as part of Operation Euphrates Shield. In Operation Olive Branch, we have rendered 3,800 terrorists ineffective. We expect support in our fight rather than criticism. Our counterterrorism operations also contribute to the security of Europe.

"Turkey and the EU are long-term, strategic partners. Exclusion of Turkey from enlargement policies would be an unfortunate mistake.

"Independent of the course of the Cyprus issue, it is a requirement of the international law to equally include Turkish Cypriots within the decision mechanisms concerning the natural sources around the island. Turkey is a key actor in the region. It is not possible for us to reach an agreement unless the EU employs fair conduct with regard to Cyprus."

The EU has to take constructive steps toward the issues, Erdoğan cited.

Although we are not satisfied with the result, Tusk and Juncker's statements and Juncker's remark that he will guarantee the maintenance of negotiations with Ankara were promising.

Now it is the EU's turn to take some steps. They need to know that they cannot afford to disappoint Turkey following the Varna summit. We will wait and see.