“Georgia and Armenia face a long and difficult path regarding the European Union,” Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Chief Advisor to the President of Türkiye on Foreign Policy and Security, said during the panel titled “South Caucasus: An Emerging Strategic Center” held as part of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, APA’s correspondent dispatched to Türkiye reports.
“Our Georgian and Armenian colleagues were speaking about the process of EU membership. I recalled our own experience with the European Union and smiled a little. If we take the Ankara Agreement as the starting point of Türkiye’s integration history with the EU—although some cite different dates—that amounts to a period of approximately 60–63 years. Therefore, I would like to tell our Georgian and Armenian friends that a long and difficult road awaits you. In Türkiye’s case, it is almost like a never-ending process. There is a relationship, but it does not result in marriage. Nevertheless, I believe that the new EU bureaucracy and its representatives are more open-minded. The main issue is to build relations not in a ‘teacher–student’ format, but on an equal footing. There have been ups and downs in Türkiye’s process, but now we are talking more about economic cooperation, regional engagement, energy, agriculture, and the sharing of other resources,” Kılıç noted.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
