In his first speech to parliament after the summer break, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan targeted the European Union. It had failed to help Turkey in the fight against terrorism, he said, according to Deutsche Welle.
"We will not be the side which gives up. To tell the truth, we don't need EU membership anymore," Erdogan said on Sunday, DW reported.
The EU failed us in a fight against terrorism," Erdogan said on Sunday. "Today, Europe has become a place where terrorists can move around freely and carry out all kinds of activity against Turkey's legitimate administration."
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But he also suggested the EU still needed Turkey.
"If the EU is going to leap forward, there is only one way to do so. And it is to grant Turkey membership and start an action of cultural and economic growth," Erdogan said.
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Last November, in a symbolic vote in response to the crackdown following the coup, the EU Parliament urged governments to freeze EU membership talks with Turkey.
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