‘Turkey, EU need concrete steps for positive atmosphere’

By Rabia Iclal Turan

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish foreign minister said Thursday it is important to establish a positive atmosphere in Turkey-EU ties and that concrete steps are needed to make it sustainable.

Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Brussels Wednesday evening for a two-day visit for talks with top EU and NATO officials.

Speaking at a joint news conference with the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Cavusoglu said: “It’s very important to create a positive atmosphere but in order for that agenda to be sustainable we need concrete steps by both sides.”

Adding that 2020 was a problematic year for Turkey-EU relations due to a joint declaration after the December summit, Cavusoglu said: “But since then both sides have expressed will, in order to create a positive atmosphere for the developments of ties between the two sides.”

Cavusoglu said he and his EU counterpart Borrell will discuss a wide range of issues concerning the EU-Turkey relations ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We are going to talk about the migration declaration that Turkey has already proposed for the renewal. We are also going to talk about the details of a multilateral conference on the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he told reporters.

Some other issues such as visa liberalization, modernization of Turkey’s 1995 Customs Union with the EU, and “other concrete steps which will build the future of the EU and Turkey together” will also be on the agenda, Cavusoglu said.

Turkish and the EU officials will also discuss developing joint solutions for other regional challenges.