Turkey’s FM Cavusoglu calls on EU leaders to tackle xenophobia

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and former prime minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Thursday renewed calls for serious EU leadership on xenophobia and reiterated their commitment to EU accession talks for Turkey.

An EU leaders' meeting begins on Friday and is expected to focus on migration, defence, digitalisation and foreign affairs, including EU relations with Turkey.

Speaking at the forum, Cavusoglu addressed what he saw as key stumbling blocks to the process of EU accession to Turkey.

“Turkey is part of Europe, like it or not. Europe is our number one trading partner and we have shared values,” he said.

But the foreign minister also noted that “There is a huge disappointment [in Turkey] at the EU’s double standards and the trends of Islamophobia, xenophobia and Turkey bashing.”

“There is a lack of proper leadership to reverse this in Europe," Cavusoglu said.

“The EU is the only institution we couldn’t become a member of.  For these two reasons, support of the Turkish people for this [accession] process if very low” he said.

Addressing Zapatero, Cavusoglu called the former prime minister “a true friend.” He said that Turkey needed the initiative, the [UN] Alliance of Civilizations, which the former Spanish prime minister takes an active interest in, more than ever to overcome barriers to understanding.

“Look at the consequences of frozen conflicts. In Azerbaijan there are more than one million refugees,” Cavusoglu said.

Root causes of terrorism

Cavusoglu also addressed the issue of terrorism.

“Unless you focus on the root causes of these problems, they’ll come to you. Unless you find where the terrorists are, eventually they will come to you,” the Turkish minister said.

“Who is going to defeat terror organizations?” he continued.

“It’s a global problem and we need to fight it together. To do so effectively, we have to understand that you can not say ‘this is a good terrorist or a bad terrorist’,” he said, referring to the PKK.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the US, has waged an armed campaign against the Turkish state for over three decades. PKK affiliate, the YPG, has received tacit support within the EU. The US funds and arms the YPG, which dominate a Syrian coalition fighting Daesh.

“The YPG gets support from our allies — mainly US. How are we going to support one terrorist organization [PKK/YPG] to fight another one [Daesh]?” Cavusoglu asked.

The PKK resumed its armed campaign in Turkey in July 2015 after a brief suspension of hostilities. Since then, authorities say it has killed around 1,200 people, including women and children. Ankara has criticized the Kurdish Regional Government for allowing the PKK to operate in territory it controls in northern Iraq.

EU accession talks

On the role of his nation in Turkey’s bid to join the EU, Zapatero said that “Spain is the main advocate of Turkey in Europe.”

“The rest of the world depends on the future of Turkey, in terms of peace and stability in the Middle East,” Zapatero said. “I’m proud to be a European citizen but I want a Europe that takes care of Turkey as well.”

“I think people in Europe should know what Turkey is doing for the Syrian children. They don’t know, and the word needs to be spread,” the former Spanish premier said.

The EU-Turkey Refugee pact

“Turkey hosts over 3.2 million refugees. We have received platitudes from other nations. But we don’t see collaboration,” the Turkish foreign minister said. “Turkey has an open door policy towards refugees. We co-operate with the EU and they need to recognise this."

“These people are fleeing from famine, natural, disaster, different regimes. We need to maintain an open door policy,” he said of the Turkey-EU pact on migration.  

Zapatero concurred; “Europe and the refugee crisis are interrelated with the war in Syria, Iraq and the Middle East. These are fundamental topics, not just for Turkey but for world stability,” he said.

Turkey and the EU signed a refugee deal last March that aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions of nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

“I think EU should pay more attention to this problem,” Cavusoglu said. “It’s not only ours. We need to reach those people in need and suffering. Before they reach us,” he said.

The deal included a $6.8 billion aid package to help Turkey care for refugees it is hosting. Ankara has already spent $30 billion dollars in its efforts to tackle the refugee crisis.

TRT World Forum

The TRT World Forum brings together politicians, experts, business leaders, civil society and influencers to inspire change for a brighter and better global future.

The theme of the inaugural event is 'Inspiring Change in an Age of Uncertainty'.

The TRT World Forum is organized by Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT World. It is taking place at the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel between October 18-19 in Istanbul, Turkey.