Turkish president, EU Commission chief discuss relations

By Mehmet Yusuf Melikoglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed on Saturday Türkiye - EU relations in a phone call.

During the call, von der Leyen congratulated Erdogan on his re-election, according to a statement by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications.

Erdogan also stated that the way to successfully fight the challenges at the regional level is to strengthen the EU's cooperation with Türkiye.

Erdogan said that fair treatment to Türkiye and supporting the country's full EU membership will lead to much better relations and stronger ties.

Türkiye applied for EU membership in 1987, and its accession talks began in 2005.

In the years since, the talks have been essentially frozen due to political roadblocks by certain EU members – including Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration – for reasons unrelated to its suitability for membership, according to Ankara.

Turkish officials argue that the EU can never live up to its potential on the world stage without Turkish membership in the bloc.​​​​​​​