Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed his government’s continued interest in joining the union on Monday, and said it would be a mistake for the EU to not allow Turkey to join the bloc.
“I hope that we have left a tough period in the relations between Turkey and Europe behind us. It would be a mistake for a Europe that claims to be a global power to keep Turkey outside of expansion policies,” President Erdogan said in a joint press conference after a summit in Varna, Bulgaria.
During the summit, he met with President of the European Council Donald Tusk, head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
Erdogan added that “a first step was taken here toward restoring trust with Europe” and described joining the EU as a “strategic goal” for Turkey.
READ MORE: Austrian Chancellor Urges to Stop Talks on Turkey's EU Accession
“Our meeting today demonstrated that while our relationship is going through difficult times, in areas where we do cooperate, we cooperate well,” President of the European Council Donald Tusk told reporters.
Tusk said the summit didn’t yield a solution, but expressed his willingness to maintain a dialogue with Turkey on the matter of the country’s accession to the EU.
Turkey and the EU agreed on a deal to tackle the migrant crisis in 2016. The agreement stipulates that migrants who arrive in Greece would be deported to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.
READ MORE: Two Years On: EU-Turkey Deal 'Historic Failure' — MSF