FM: Turkey faces threats and insults from EU

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has accused the European Union of "humiliating" Ankara.

"Rather than helping Turkey, (European nations) are humiliating us," he said in his interview to German Bild newspaper, Anadolu Agency reported.

The EU-Turkish relations have soured since the military coup attempt t of July 15, with Europe concerned by Ankara´s subsequent crackdown.

Ankara has rejected EU criticism that the purges might violate rights norms Ankara must meet under the agreement in return for visa-free travel and accelerated negotiations for bloc membership.

Cavusoglu announced that Turkey has made intense efforts, "like few other nations, to fulfill the conditions of accession to the EU".

In return, Turkey has received "only threats, insults and a total blockage" from the 28-nation union.

"I ask myself, what crime have we committed? Why this hostility?" said Cavusoglu, who earlier accused the EU of "encouraging" the coup plotters.

Moreover, Cavusoglu touched the issue of possibility of restoring the death penalty in Turkey.

“Europe is behaving as if we have already restored the death penalty. There are particular request in this regard and it should be understood. Turkey has experienced the bloodiest coup in its history. Tanks crushed on the people and the planes were shooting peaceful civilians.  The Parliament was shelled. Which is why we cannot ignore such demands”, he said.

The July 15 coup attempt occurred when rogue elements in the Turkish military tried to overthrow the country's democratically elected government.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly plot, which martyred at least 246 people and injured more than 2,000 others, was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

Gulen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration into Turkish state and government establishments, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the "parallel state".

Previously, Turkish President Erdogan said that Europe has never kept its promise, adding that they still have not paid $3 billion allocated for maintenance of refugees so they cannot demand anything without fulfilling their promises.

The Heads of State and the EU Member States' governments agreed with Turkey upon a joint plan to combat the migration crisis in mid-March. The program is focusing on the return of illegal immigrants arriving from Greece to the territory of Turkey and accepting legal Syrian refugees in Turkey by the EU based on to the principle of "one for one".

Currently, there are more than two million Syrian refugees in the territory of Turkey. Approximately 300,000 of them live in the camps and the rest are scattered over the Turkish provinces. Only Istanbul is host to 40,000 refugees from Syria.

Turkey has long waited for its EU membership, while each application to accede to the European Union was frustrating for the government. Turkey, holding a status of an associate member at the Economic Community -- the predecessor of the EU since 1963 -- made an official application for entry on April 14, 1987.

The membership bid has become a major controversy of the ongoing enlargement of the European Union.