Turkey is a natural and strong partner in maintaining and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the European Union and wider Europe, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 13th Ambassadors Conference in the Turkish capital Ankara, he said: "If we have done and are doing with the European Union what we have achieved in foreign policy alone, the European Union would be applauded as a global actor all over the world."

On Turkey's objective of EU membership, the top diplomat reaffirmed Ankara's commitment and said the country "will pursue constructive policies to improve cooperation and dialogue in all fields."

"Turkey is Europe," he said, emphasizing Ankara's responsibility in ensuring Europe's security.

"Today, the engagement sought by formulas such as the European Political or Geopolitical Community has already been established for us through the partnership status, the Customs Union relationship and the EU membership negotiation process. We are not open to suggestions that will cast a shadow over our membership process. We look favorably on integration steps that will accelerate our membership and empower us in relevant policy areas," Çavuşoğlu explained.

In recent years, Turkey-EU relations have been marked by disputes on several issues, including tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey's role in Syria, the migrant crisis and the stalemate in Turkey's accession process to join the bloc. However, Turkey has recently reiterated that it is part of Europe and sees its future in the EU, adding that it will continue to work toward full membership.

Ankara has been calling to reenergize the accession process, update the EU-Turkey Customs Union, regular high-level dialogues, visa liberalization and counterterrorism.

Turkey has a long history with the union and the longest negotiation process. The country signed an association agreement with the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1964, which is regarded as a first step to eventually becoming a candidate. Applying for official candidacy in 1987, Turkey had to wait until 1999 to be granted the status of a candidate country. Turkey then had to wait another six years for negotiations to begin in 2005, a uniquely long process compared to other candidates. Since then, the process seems to have stalled.

Turkey's foreign policy is entrepreneurial and humanitarian, not dogmatic or unprincipled, which has helped mitigate the threat of a global food crisis, Çavuşoğlu also said and underlined that the crisis in Ukraine "has once again demonstrated the worth of Turkey."

Ankara expects its allies to be "more friendly, more active and less critical, and to take responsibility," he added.

He said Turkey's cross-border operations are progressing with effective diplomatic support, stressing that they are of "great importance" for the territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq.

The fight against terrorism is a "red line" for Turkey, the minister asserted.

He said Ankara expects Iraqi authorities to take concrete action against the PKK terrorist group.

Until that happens, Turkey will continue taking measures to protect its national security, he asserted.

"Turkey hopes its sensitivities in the fight against terrorism are well understood by the world," Çavuşoğlu said.

He also criticized the United States for not taking "satisfactory steps" against the PKK, its Syrian branch YPG and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) terrorist groups, as well as on unilateral sanctions against Turkey.

The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the EU, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara.

The U.S. primarily partnered with YPG terrorists in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.

Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Turkey conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.

Addressing the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey wants the "interconnected issues" to be addressed and resolved "holistically and comprehensively in accordance with international law."

"Greece, however, does not have the will to resolve (these) issues," he said.

Speaking about the recent flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he reiterated that Turkey "once again warns Armenia not to engage in new provocations."

When Azerbaijan liberated territory in Karabakh that was illegally occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades during the conflict in the fall of 2020, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey stood for justice and supported the righteous and truthful side.

The foreign minister also condemned the new wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza, saying there can be no justification for killing innocent people, especially a 5-year-old child.