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EU wants more cooperation, positive agenda with Turkey

11 December 2020 22:48 (UTC +04:00)

The EU is ready to cooperate with Turkey on migration issues, said the head of the EU Council on Friday at the end of a two-day Brussels summit where he said the “difficult topic” of relations with Turkey was discussed, APA reports citing Anadolu Agency.

Charles Michel told reporters that they picked up from decisions on Turkey made at an October summit and had to adopt some guidelines, referring to a joint statement released by EU leaders Friday criticizing Ankara’s energy exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, but stopped short of calling for severe economic sanctions on Turkey.

Asked about a statement where EU leaders also proposed “a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey,” he said: “What we are doing is to cooperate more with Turkey in order to tackle this difficult challenge of immigration.

“And, of course, it's important for all the European members to have a responsible cooperation with Turkey.”

Turkey holds the status of country with the largest number of refugees in the world, including nearly 4 million Syrians fleeing war.