Erdogan: Turkey can part ways with European Union

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could "part ways" with the European Union, implying that his country is thinking about ending its EU membership bid.

"The European Union is trying to break away from Turkey," he told reporters in Istanbul before flying to New York, where he is to attend the 78th UN General Assembly.

"We will make our own evaluation of these developments, and if necessary we could part ways with the European Union," Erdogan said when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey.

Erdogan's statement on Saturday came more than a week after Turkey's foreign minister affirmed his country's resolve to join the EU and urged the bloc to take courageous steps to advance its bid.

What was the European Parliament report about?

The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey's accession process with the EU cannot resume under current circumstances. It also called for the European Union to explore "a parallel and realistic framework" for its ties with Ankara.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the European Parliament report as "unfounded" and "based on disinformation." It also said the report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took "a shallow and non-visionary" approach to the country's ties with the EU.

Turkey-EU accession talks have been ongoing since 2005 but are effectively frozen amid Brussels' concerns over the deteriorating rule of law and the human rights situation in Turkey.

Following his reelection in May, Erdogan   called for the revival of negotiations to join the EU. In July, he also suggested that the EU should admit Turkey into the bloc if it wanted Sweden in NATO.

dh/sms (dpa, Reuters)