Turkey Gears up to Normalize ties with European Union

Ankara, July 25: Turkey is gearing up for seeking reconciliation with the European Union (EU) following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s victory in the June 24 elections. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday vowed to restore ties with its European partners, which have been strained by tension in the past few years, Xinhua news agency reported. “Normalisation with the Netherlands has already started. We have good dialogue with France. In the upcoming period we will realize tripartite and quartet meetings in Europe,” he said. In the past few years, especially after the 2016 failed coup, Turkey’s ties with its European partners, including Germany, Netherlands and Austria, have deteriorated due to the campaign tours by Turkish officials targeting Turkish diaspora in the European countries and the EU criticism of Turkish massive crackdown on dissidents. (IANS)