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On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he wants to open a “new page” with the European Union, according to the Turkish presidency.
The presidency said in a statement that during a video conference with Merkel, “President Erdogan stated that Turkey wants to open a new page in its relations with the European Union, and thanked the Chancellor for her constructive contributions and efforts in favor of relations between Turkey. and the European Union “.
The presidency added that “there is a new opportunity” to strengthen relations between Turkey and the Union, but some countries are trying to “create a crisis” to sabotage this “positive agenda”, without specifying the intended countries.
European leaders decided, during a summit in Brussels last week, to impose targeted sanctions on Ankara because of its “unilateral actions and provocations” in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean, and where Turkey disputes sovereignty over maritime areas with Greece and Cyprus.
For months, Turkey’s relations with these two members of the European Union have gone through an exceptionally difficult journey, as well as with France that supports them.
Erdogan emphasized that Turkey’s role was “constructive”, accusing Greece of refusing to negotiate.
He called for a review of the 2016 agreement between the union and Turkey on migrants, believing that this review would be “the key to a positive agenda with Europe.”
This agreement was reached after the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, with the arrival of more than one million immigrants to the countries of the Union.
Under the agreement, Turkey agreed to return to its territory all new immigrants arriving on the Greek islands, including asylum seekers such as Syrians fleeing the war in their country. In return, the European Union disburses six billion euros to Turkey to improve the living conditions of the 3.6 million refugees it receives.
Since then, Ankara has faced extortion accusations against Europe, using migrants.
On Thursday, the European Union finally paid Ankara the 6 billion euros it promised to pay under the deal.
