File photo. [AP]
Turkey’s president urged the European Union to pursue closer ties with Ankara, arguing that the bloc increasingly needs Turkey’s strength and regional influence. In a speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Europe faces a choice: recognize Turkey’s power and global reach as an opportunity to overcome current challenges, or allow “the rhetoric of exclusion to tarnish Europe’s future.” He added that “today, Europe’s need for Turkey is greater than Turkey’s need for Europe, and tomorrow this need will grow even more.”
Erdogan also pointed to Turkey’s longstanding EU bid, contrasting it with Greece’s accession, and argued that the bloc cannot be a global actor without Turkey as a full member. “We are not and will never become a country whose existence is remembered only when necessary,” he said, warning against treating Turkey as a partner of convenience.
He urged the EU to recognize the value of Turkey’s “constructive stance,” avoid exploiting it, and refrain from actions or statements that could undermine relations. “Neither is Turkey the same as it used to be, nor is the world limited to the sphere of influence of Western states as it once was,” he said.
Analysts said Erdogan’s remarks were a response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who stressed the need for deeper European integration to reduce external influence.
Meanwhile, nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli warned against regional initiatives in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying efforts that sideline Turkey could not go unanswered.