The Cyprus issue must also be discussed within the framework of Turkey’s EU accession process, said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, in an interview with the Turkish news agency “Anadolu”.
Ms Kallas, who will visit Turkey on Friday, will meet with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, and the Speaker of the Turkish National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmus, as well as representatives of civil society and NGOs.
As reported by Turkish media, Ms Kallas’s meetings with Turkish officials are expected to focus on EU-Turkey relations as well as the situation in the region: Syria, Gaza, and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In her interview with the “Anadolu” agency, Ms Kallas said that “Türkiye is our partner of strategic importance […] it’s high time to visit Türkiye. […] We have many issues. So we can discuss about regional security, about also different cooperation points like energy cooperation, for example, that we can have. So definitely, there is room for more cooperation.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stressed that she sees Turkey as a strategically important player and said that they have many issues to discuss.
She pointed out that “both (Turkey and the EU) are both interested in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean. That is our mutual interest on Syria. We also share the interest that this country develops in the right direction, and there’s the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. On Gaza, the ceasefire continues, and the peace is important for the people. So these are the things that we can work with,” she said.
Regarding Turkey’s candidate country status, Kallas said that “this process is at a standstill, and there are remaining issues in line with the 27 member states that we have. Of course, the issue about Cyprus, human rights, the rule of law, fundamental rights, are the issues that we need to discuss. So these are our points of contact.”
Asked if she believes that a European security system separate from NATO should be created, Ms Kallas noted that “we shouldn’t duplicate what NATO already does. We have 27 armies in the European Union, and they should all contribute to have this collective defense that we cooperate with each other.”
She pointed out that therefore “it’s not that we need a European army, but we need these 27 members to work together very well.”
She also noted that 23 of the EU member states are also members of NATO, and “this makes us naturally partners”.
“But of course, there are more allies in NATO that we need to work with, and Turkey is one of them,” she noted.
Featured photo source: Reuters
With information from: Anadolu
