Erdogan tells EU to quickly decide on Turkey's membership bid

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the Europe Union should make a decision on Turkey's membership bid soon.

His comments came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to push her EU partners to consider suspending or ending Turkey's accession talks.

"We have been fulfilling our responsibilities since the day our membership negotiations started, we did our job," Erdogan said during a meeting with provincial heads of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) meeting in Ankara. 

“However, it is obviously intolerable that the European Union, which fails to fulfill its promises to our country, starts accusing us,” said Erdogan, adding that Turkey will continue to pursue its EU membership goal.

"Turkey has tolerated delays caused by the EU as we believe that these reforms will raise the democratic and economic standards of our citizens,” he said.

Apparently referring to German and Austrian politicians focusing on Turkey ahead of upcoming elections in those countries, Erdogan said that Turkey will not let itself be used as campaign fodder.

Erdogan called it “hypocrisy and political indecency” to force Turkey to end its negotiations for full membership, and urged EU countries to be sincere with Turkey.

North Korean nuclear test

Turning to recent developments in North Korea, Erdogan said that Turkey is following the tensions arising from North Korea's missile tests "closely with concern."

"We want the crisis, which concerns our friends Japan and South Korea, to be resolved as soon as possible," he said.

"It is clear that there will be no winner in a fight with weapons of mass destruction," he added.

Erdogan stated that countries urging Turkey not to have weapons of mass destruction are the same ones that already have the most powerful weapons of mass destruction.

The president said that if there is going to be a fight against nuclear weapons, this needs to start with those who already own the weapons.

"In such a fight not [only] will the [warring] sides be harmed, but all of humanity," Erdogan said.

"We are inviting North Korea to immediately give up on actions that escalate the tension," he said.

North Korea claimed to have detonated a new hydrogen bomb on Sunday, one that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM.