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February 5th, 2018 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Turkey’s President R. Tayyip Erdogan, in an interview published on Sunday, said he “insists” on Turkey’s full EU membership and rejected proposals of a partnership instead.
(archives)
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Stampa, Erdogan said that the European Union (EU) must keep its promises to Turkey. The interview and statement came ahead of the Turkish president’s trip to the Italian capital Rome.
Erdogan met with French President Emmanuel Macron in the French capital Paris early last month in efforts to improve Ankara’s strained relationship with the EU. Macron said that the relationship between Turkey and Europe needed to be reconsidered and suggested creating a partnership that would ensure Turkey’s “future will be built looking toward Europe and with Europe.”
Erdogan said that “The EU is blocking access to negotiations and suggests that lack of progress is because of us. It’s unfair. … We want full membership. Other options are not satisfactory,” he added.
Erdogan also insisted that his country played an “important” role for migrants traveling through Turkey and offered “security and stability” to Europe. He did not mention that Turkey, as first “allegedly” safe country for many of the Syrian refugees would “have to” grant asylum, and that Turkey received substantial German and EU funds, or that he threatened to flood the EU with refugees if the EU would continue criticizing Ankara for the crack down against Kurds in Turkey and the post-coup purges and rights abuses.
Ties between Turkey and Europe deteriorated last year after authorities in several countries prevented Turkish government ministers from holding political rallies to court expatriates’ votes in a referendum to expand the president’s powers. Germany and Belgium insisted that Ankara would not use diplomatic privileges for party campaigns in EU countries.
Erdogan also unleashed a series of insults at NATO allies, accusing European officials of racism, harboring “terrorists” and behaving like Nazis. The European Union announced in November of last year that they will cut up to 175 million euros of pre-accession aid to Turkey in 2018 due to violations of human rights in the country which could further stall Ankara’s decades-old bid for membership.
Erdogan will arrive at the Vatican on Monday on a 24-hour visit to meet with Pope Francis and Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Pietro Parolin as well as his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella. The visit will be the first presidential visit from Turkey to Vatican City in 59 years.
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2018/02/05/erdogan-insists-on-turkeys-full-eu-membership-instead-of-partnership/
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