UPDATE - Turkey ready to fulfill any criteria for EU membership

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM CAVUSOGLU, ADDS COMMENTS BY SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER

By Burak Bir and Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is ready to fulfill any criteria for the EU membership, if the bloc wants to negotiate with honesty, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde, Mevlut Cavusoglu reaffirmed Turkey's determination towards the membership. He, however, said the EU needs to take serious decisions on many issues, including enlargement.

The two foreign ministers also evaluated regional issues, including Upper Karabakh and Syria, as well as bilateral relations, he added.

- ‘No difference between terror groups’

"We expect more concrete support and cooperation from Sweden in the fight against terrorism," Cavusoglu said, referring to PKK and FETO terror groups' activities in Sweden.

"Many FETO members applied for asylum in Sweden and unfortunately they were accepted," he said, adding that there is no difference between SDF, PYD and PKK terror groups.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated a defeated coup on July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Turkey also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is PKK's Syrian offshoot.

- Upper Karabakh issue

Speaking about the latest clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Cavusoglu said that the world should call on Armenia to retreat from occupied territories.

“In addition to the cease-fire call, if there will be a call for Armenia to 'retreat from Azerbaijani lands', then we can really see the desire of the international community to resolve this issue,” he noted.

The failure in attaining peaceful solution has encouraged Armenia to launch new attacks on civilians in Azerbaijan, he added.

He reiterated that a permanent solution to the conflict would only be possible with the retreat of Armenia from occupied Azerbaijani lands.

“We have said and now [again] saying that we support Azerbaijan both on the field and on the negotiation table under any circumstances,” Cavusoglu said.

Fresh clashes began on Sept. 27 when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

The humanitarian truce had been declared on Saturday for the exchange of prisoners and retrieval of bodies of either sides' soldiers in Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

The cease-fire came after a trilateral meeting was held in Moscow on Friday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

However, Armenian forces launched a missile strike on Azerbaijan's second-largest city, Ganja -- despite the region being outside the frontline zone -- leaving at least 10 people dead and 35 others wounded, including women and children.

- 'EU seeks good relations with Turkey'

Speaking on Turkey-EU relations, Linde said that the EU seeks to have good relations with Turkey. "Trade with Turkey is an important issue for all of us."

She added that they applauded Turkey's efforts for Syrian refugees as well as efforts towards the EU membership.

Noting that there are many issues Sweden and Turkey disagree on, she said that on the field, everyone should have a dialogue with different actors on different issues as part of the coalition against Daesh.

About the SDF -- a group that Turkey says is another name used by the YPG/PKK in Syria -- she claimed that this is a different group than PKK and that it has not been listed as a terror group by international community.

Responding to a question on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, she said that there cannot be any other solution than having negotiations.

She pointed out the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group for the solution of the Upper Karabakh issue and said the parties should sit down at the negotiating table.

- Double standards

Criticizing Linde’s remarks about “urging Turkey to retreat from Syria,” Cavusoglu said that this is not a correct approach in diplomacy.

“With what authority you asked Turkey to retreat from Syria or warned Turkey in this regard,” he asked.

Cavusoglu referred to the EU’s silence on Greece’s mistreatment of migrants and said it is an example of double standards as the EU remains silent over Greece’s behavior.

Also touching on “situation of minorities” comments by Linde, Cavusoglu called for listening to the voices of other minorities -- including Christians and Kurdish groups that were abused by PKK and its branches.

“Why you see PKK as ‘Kurds’ while ignoring other Kurdish people,” Cavusoglu questioned.