Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says Europeans have understood that they made mistakes in their relations with Turkey, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“If you [European Union] want to have dialogue and cooperation, it must be sincere dialogue and cooperation. I have seen this positive atmosphere. I have seen that they have understood their mistakes,” Çavuşoğlu told Anadolu following the Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) in Valletta, Malta.
Çavuşoğlu met with the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, with Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, and with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel during the EU meeting.
Underlining that during the bilateral meetings EU officials asked how to normalize relations with Turkey, what kind of steps they should take, Çavuşoğlu continued: “I have seen that they have also taken lessons from their wrong approaches and mistakes. I hope they’re sincere.”
Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained, especially due to steps taken by the government following a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Tension peaked when some EU countries refused to allow Turkish ministers conduct referendum rallies in European cities.
Attacking EU members during his nonstop “yes” campaign ahead of an April 16 referendum, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Europe “the center of Nazism today.” Erdoğan also described the EU as “the alliance of crusaders.”