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“Aggressive” and “provocative” is what is happening in the Mediterranean from the Turkish side, said Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling a “good sign” the fact that the research vessel “Oruc Reis” returned to a Turkish port, noting at the same time “but we continue” to have drilling activities off Cyprus.
Speaking a few hours ago in a teleconference with members of the European Parliament and members of the national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union under the German Presidency of the Council of the EU, German Chancellor says ‘unfortunate progress’ in EU-Turkey relations “Not worth mentioning” as you would like. “We put a lot of effort into EU-Turkey relations. There are a number of obstacles and difficulties that keep appearing, so we should wait for how the debate will unfold in December. but it hasn’t progressed as much as expected“Ms Merkel said.
Answering relevant questions from the parliamentarians of Greece and Cyprus, Chancellor Merkel said that “Turkey in recent years has taken a path that provokes a lot of criticism in terms of our values, our beliefs.” “What is happening in the Mediterranean, both towards Cyprus – and on the issue of the reunification of Cyprus – and on the issue of mineral extraction, have a very aggressive character or, I would say, a provocative character and it is a good sign that this ship, the Oruc Reis has returned to a Turkish port. But we still have drilling activities ahead of Cyprus. And we said that we would take up the issue again at the December European Council and think about how we would react to the situation. This will take place on December 10 and 11, as we had planned ”, he added.
On the other hand, the foreign minister noted, “Turkey is the country that has probably received the most refugees in the world, due to the conflict in Syria, in which western countries also participated». More than three million Syrian refugees, and certainly one million other refugees, live in Turkey, he said, expressing his respect for Turkey’s efforts in this area. “If you look at how difficult it is for us in the EU to deal with immigration issues, Turkey deserves great respect for what it is doing in this area,” he said.That is why I am in favor of continuing to support Turkey in this, because it is definitely better for refugees to live close to their homeland than to live in different EU countries. Here we have, I think, an obligation. And we know how difficult it was already in Germany to accept a large number of refugeesWhat discussions have taken place in this regard and that is why I better understand the effort that Turkey is making. But like I said, it will be a problem again in December. “
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