EU and Turkey want to renew dialogue
After weeks of strained relations the EU and Turkey are attempting to ease the tensions once more: the EU's foreign ministers and Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik met for talks during a summit in Bratislava. A new opportunity for the press to discuss whether Turkey and the EU can get along with each other.
How the West should negotiate with the Turks
Political scientist Ognyan Minchev gives tips for negotiating with Turkish politicians and diplomats on news website Club Z:
“In my experience, to understand the Turks you have to take account of two things: their pronounced nationalism and their almost pathological sense of self-worth, particularly when they're in talks with representatives of the West who are critical of Turkey. … Conversely this means that the Turks only take dialogue partners who demonstrate a similar sense of dignity and self-worth seriously. Even power and strength count less for them. … You don't go to the Turks with your head bowed. No matter what you want of them, what you're willing to give them or are asking them for: you must do it with your head raised high, with dignity and without fear!”
Turkey does not belong in EU
Turkey has no place in the EU, geographer Iosif Daniel writes on the blog portal Contributors:
“How stable can a country be that has been waging war on a minority (one that supports terrorism, it's true) for the past three decades? 13 million Kurds live in Turkey - 20 percent of the total population - mainly in the south-east of the country, but also in Istanbul (roughly 4 million). The PKK was established in 1978, and armed conflicts between Ankara and party militants have been taking place since 1984. Even if the head of the Kurdish movement, Abdullah Öcalan, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999, he continues to control the fighters' movements. Since July 2015 the conflict has spread alarmingly, and over 6,000 people have been killed. And this Turkey, which harks back to the era of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, wants to be part of the EU. ... Wouldn't it be better to leave Europe's borders as they have been for so long? Bigger does not mean better.”
Isolation pointless
EU and Turkey should continue their close cooperation, the pro-government daily Sabah believes:
“The West will always represent a chance. ... Ignoring that is nonsense, and turning one's back on the West and pursuing a policy of isolation is pointless. Why should we? ... If the West isn't hypocritical, if it rejects double standards and really is based on the rule of law, it should abolish the visa regulation and make Turkey a full EU member immediately. What's more, it should apologise for its silence after the attempted coup. ... But we too have something to do: we must inform the West about the true nature of the Gülen organisation, and of course we must promote democracy and the rule of law here at home despite the state of emergency after the putsch.”
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