Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.24
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey has no interest in the issue of accession to the European Union, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
He said currently, Ankara is testing the EU to find out whether this organization is really a democratic system, or a Christian club, TRT Haber TV channel reported on Jan.24.
If any state in EU thinks that Turkey will beg for accession to this structure, then it is mistaken, said Erdogan.
The official negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU were resumed in 2005.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc earlier said that if previously 75 percent of Turkey's population supported the country's accession to the EU, currently, this figure has dropped to 20 percent.
Turkey has fulfilled 65 percent of its commitments to the EU for accession to this organization.
Earlier, the country's Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said the negotiations between Turkey and EU can't continue in the format required by the organization. He said at the time that democracy in Turkey is at a higher level than in some European countries.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu