Erdogan Calls on EU to Review Accession Talks With Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that negotiations between Ankara and Brussels on Turkey's accession to the European Union should be reviewed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Wednesday on the European Union to review the negotiation on Turkish accession to the bloc "as soon as possible".

"They say the negotiations should be reviewed. It's too late now. Review it as soon as possible and make sure that you do not delay the final decision" Erdogan said, as quoted by the Daily Sabah media outlet.

He criticized the European Union for sheltering Kurdistan Workers' Party’s (PKK) members and followers of the US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen accused in Turkey of masterminding a failed coup.

"Those who criticize us never see the fact that around 800 security officials and 300 civilians have been killed by PKK terrorists in Turkey" Erdogan said.

Turkey signed an association agreement with then-European Community in 1963, and submitted a membership application in 1987. Talks about Ankara's membership of the European Union began in 2005. Sixteen out of 35 chapters of the accession talks have been opened. The negotiations on Turkish EU membership have been repeatedly suspended due to the Cyprus dispute and Turkey's record of denying press freedom, among other obstacles.

In mid-March, the European Union agreed to intensify the talks in exchange for Turkish agreement to help reduce the flow of migrants to Europe.

On November 3, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Ankara would scrap the EU-Turkey agreement on the migrant issue if Turkish nationals did not get visa-free access to European visa-free Schengen Area by the end of the year, thus triggering EU states' concerns over the possibility of a new wave of migrants.