Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday appeared in a televised interview with German RTL, calling that European Union to reveal its true intentions over Turkey's EU membership bid.
"If you do not want to take Turkey into the European Union, then say it clearly and openly. We need each other and we must be honest to each other," Erdogan told RTL's Peter Kloeppel.
Erdogan rejected any EU status for Turkey that would fall short of full membership, saying the French and German governments had proposed a privileged partnership, Anadolu News Agency reports.
"That has no place in the European Union acquis. Turkey made its appeal for membership in 1959 and now it is not fair that Turkey faces such a proposal," he said.
Erdogan also criticized Germany's failure to offer dual citizenship to Turks living in Germany and the European Union's visa regime on Turkish nationals, saying nationals of countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, which has no geographical ties to the EU, were granted visa-free travel to the Union.
"Why do the Turks are not treated the same way? The question is that is the European Union a Christian club oris it the address of a community of civilizations. The current picture shows that the EU is a Christian club. This must be overcome," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said Turkish children in Germany should have the opportunity to learn their mother tongue, Turkish.
"In order to learn German well, they must know their own language. If they do not, they cannot learn good German. So, first the mother tongue, then the second language, this is the way," he said.
Touching on political uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, Erdogan said Turkey monitored developments with concern.
"Transition from autocracy to democracy is not an easy undertaking. That process would certainly face serious setbacks. It is important to win the trust of the people," he said.
Erdogan rejected any military action by NATO or other sanctions on Libya, adding that resorting to those two options would make the Libyan people suffer more.