NNA – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could quot;part waysquot; with the European Union if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey.
The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey#39;s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU to explore quot;a parallel and realistic frameworkquot; for its ties with Ankara.
Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled in recent years over the bloc#39;s concerns about human rights violations and respect for the rule of law.
quot;The EU is trying to break away from Turkey,quot; Erdogan told reporters ahead of a trip to the United States. quot;We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU.quot;
Turkey#39;s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that the European Parliament report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took quot;a shallow and non-visionaryquot; approach to the country#39;s ties with the EU. — Reutersnbsp;
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