The differences of opinion within the European Union significantly obstruct support for Palestinians, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the 60th Munich Security Conference, Fidan discussed Türkiye-EU relations as well as the ongoing war in Gaza with Borrell, diplomatic sources said.
The sources added Fidan underlined that the EU has no lever against Israel.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,663, mostly women and children, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
Less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.
On the other side, Fidan reminded Borrell that Türkiye should not be discriminated against compared to other candidate countries, as Ankara’s candidacy process is dragging on.
Türkiye has the longest history with the union and the longest negotiation process. An association agreement was signed in 1964, which is usually regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Türkiye had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. For the start of the negotiations, however, Türkiye had to wait for another six years, until 2005, a uniquely long process compared with other candidates.
