Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rejected the connection between the Cypriot and Euro-Turkish relations, in statements after his participation in the Informal Council of EU Foreign Ministers (Gymnich).

“We believe that revitalizing Turkey-EU relations is in everyone’s interest. However, we emphasized that connecting the Cyprus problem with Turkey-EU relations is not a healthy method and will not bring results,” said Hakan Fidan.

The head of Turkish diplomacy underlined that joining the EU is a strategic goal for his country, and noted that the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed this clearly. “We want to move forward with a positive agenda. If the EU shows a positive approach in the same way, it will be in everyone’s interest,” Hakan Fidan said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister emphasized the issue of entry visas for Turkish citizens in the countries of the Schengen zone, stressing that one of the priority issues for Ankara is the liberalization of visas. He stated that 66 criteria have been fulfilled by Turkey and that the relevant institutions are working together to complete the remaining six criteria.

The Turkish minister also stated that “until the visa waiver is achieved, we continue to work to eliminate the difficulties and obstacles our citizens face during the Schengen visa application process. We are continuing our contacts with the EU and Member States on the extension of multiple-entry visas and long-stay visas.”

On the subject of the EU-Turkey Customs Union, Hakan Fidan emphasized that “we continue to await its update”.

He also requested that the established Turkey-EU dialogue mechanisms that were suspended in 2019 be reactivated and “concrete steps be taken on technical issues in order for relations to gain momentum in the next period.”

The Turkish foreign minister called the roughly two-hour meeting in Brussels a “positive development” and “important for revitalizing our relations with the EU,” recalling that Turkey had not been invited to these meetings for some time.

It was the first time in five years that the head of Turkish diplomacy received an invitation to participate in a meeting of the Union’s foreign ministers.