President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that the European Union will be better off security-wise if the bloc accepts Turkey's accession.
"Alienating Turkey puts the peace and stability in the region at risk; a safe Europe without Turkey is highly unlikely," he said in a press conference with his Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor.
"It is also of high concern for us that Islamophobia and xenophobia are on the rise in Europe," he added during his speech in the Beştepe Presidential Complex in Ankara, referring to the rising anti-Turkey sentiments across the continent, especially after the Brexit and the strengthening far-right.
Slovenian President Pahor commented on souring Turkey-EU relations. "Turkey has been disillusioned with the EU's half-hearted statements following the July 15 coup attempt," he said in an apparent apologetical tone.
Turkey and EU has made a deal regarding the visa-free travel and refugee flow into the old continent. Ankara has been warning Brussels, saying that it will drop the migrant deal if the EU does not finalize visa liberalization by the end of this year.
EU officials acknowledged that Turkey has been fulfilling its obligations in the refugee deal struck with the EU in March. Refugee flows from Turkey have been reduced to about 80 per day.
