'Estonia's support for EU membership is important for Turkiye'

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkiye values Estonia's support for its European Union membership, the Turkish parliament speaker said Tuesday.

"Estonia's support for Turkiye's EU membership process is important to us. We have no doubt that this principled support will continue," Mustafa Sentop said during a meeting with Mihhail Korb, head of the Estonia-Turkiye Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, in the capital Ankara.

Sentop underlined that ties between the two NATO allies have reached a much more advanced level in the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Turkiye applied for EU membership in 1987 and its accession talks began in 2005. But negotiations stalled in 2007 due to objections of the Greek Cypriot administration, as well as opposition from Germany and France.

Ankara also says Brussels has failed to keep its promises under the 2016 EU-Turkiye migration deal to help migrants and stem further migrant waves.

Korb, for his part, expressed his gratitude for Turkiye's role in hosting refugees.

Turkiye already hosts around 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world.