Turkey will not accept entry to the European Union on any conditions, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in a newspaper interview published on the eve of a key EU decision on the issue.
”We will not say yes at any price. We have told the EU that,” Gul told the Milliyet daily, in comments published on Wednesday.
Gul’s comments echoed those of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who on Tuesday told diplomats from EU states that his country will reject conditions posed by the EU authorities in Brussels if it considers them contrary to its interests.
During an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, the 25-nation grouping is due to set a date for the long-awaited opening of negotiations on Turkey’s application.
In his interview, Gul laid down what he said are four ”red lines” that Turkey will not cross:
- Negotiations must have as their final aim complete EU membership for Turkey.
- The EU must not oblige Turkey to extend diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Cyprus, which became an EU member in May this year.
- The decision to open membership negotiations with Turkey — expected to be taken at the Brussels summit — must be very clear, and not conditional on any subsequent decision by EU leaders.
- There should be no special conditions imposed permanently on Turkey.
”Turkey will not accept an injustice,” Gul said, adding that to impose special conditions — as demanded by some EU countries — would ”violate European law”.
Gul was later due to fly to the summit in Brussels. — Sapa-AFP