Istanbul: In an interview with the Financial Times, Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said that if he were to defeat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming election, he would reopen EU membership negotiations. While Erdogan's administration has harshly criticised Brussels, Kilicdaroglu's campaign has heavily emphasised pro-Western rhetoric.
According to the newspaper, Kilicdaroglu declared on Friday that he would "immediately move towards reviving Türkiye's moribund EU membership talks."
The 74-year-old former official, whose People's Republic Party (CHP) is in charge of the National Alliance's six parties, criticised Erdogan for curtailing civil liberties and declared that, if elected, his top priorities would be "the economy and democracy."
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Turkey first applied to join the EU in 1987, and its candidature was recognised in 1999. Membership negotiations began in 2005, but because of slow progress, there have been no discussions since 2016. Since then, Erdogan has drawn criticism from EU officials for alleged violations of human rights, and the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee warned in a 2017 report that constitutional changes enhancing his authority might violate EU law and jeopardise Ankara's bid for membership.
Erdogan ignored the caution from Brussels. At the time, he said, "You can write as many reports as you want. "We are unfamiliar with your reports. In the future, we won't recognise them either.
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As Europe's geopolitical influence is waning and its states are little more than American vassals, Türkiye places little stock in what the EU says, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu stated earlier this month. In Istanbul, he told the members of a youth organisation, "There is no such thing as Europe. "Europe is a muley in the convoy of America. It has no unique characteristics.
Kilicdaroglu has exhibited greater obeisance to the EU's demands. His adviser, Unal Cevikoz, told Politico last month that "we are going to start with the normalisation process in domestic politics."
This will merely signal to all of our allies and all of the European countries that Turkey is once again on the path to democracy, and that undoubtedly will bring about a very significant shift in the perception about Türkiye’s position.”
Turkey is the only NATO member that has not criticised Russia for its military operation in Ukraine, and since the conflict started, Ankara and Moscow have improved their trade relations. In an interview with the Financial Times, Kilicdaroglu said he would keep business ties with Russia but added, "We do not find it right for [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to attack and occupy Ukraine."
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Erdogan will need to win over voters who are struggling with persistently high inflation, a declining currency, and the economic effects of the earthquakes that occurred last month close to the southern city of Gaziantep in order to win a third term in office. According to polls, Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu are currently statistically tied.