EU Minister Çelik: Warming ties with Moscow will not affect relations with EU
by Elif Petek Samatyalı
ANKARAAug 10, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Elif Petek Samatyalı
Aug 10, 2016 12:00 am
Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik on Tuesday criticized the speculation that Turkey is detaching itself from Europe as it gets closer to Russia, saying the rumor is nothing more than propaganda against Turkey.
Speaking in a televised interview, Çelik said: "These accusations are being repeated whenever the EU fails to establish real and meaningful relations with Turkey." Asserting that it is perfectly normal for Turkey to have good relations with Russia, Çelik said that the countries have always had a relationship throughout history."
Asking whether Turkey is going through an axis shift or not does not make sense, they just accuse Turkey instead of facing their own deficiencies," Çelik said, further adding that enhancing the relationship with Russia does not mean a failure in relations with the EU. "Turkey is at a crossroads in all its relations in this region. Any country to bypass Turkey would only prove its own lack of vision," Çelik said, adding that no bilateral relations should be considered as an alternative for others as all relationships compete globally with each other.
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