Turkey’s efforts for peace in the wake of the war between Russia and Ukraine are “appreciated by EU officials,” the head of the European Union-Turkey Friendship Group said on Saturday.
“Right now, Turkey’s peaceful role that is centered around the idea of promoting diplomatic negotiations between the conflicting sides is very crucial,” Ryszard Czarnecki told Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Czarnecki noted that Turkey is calling for an immediate end to the war and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.
“Turkey’s efforts to de-escalate the conflict is also seen in Turkey’s fondness of a solution that involves peaceful engagement. Overall, the mediator attitude adopted by Turkey was accompanied by the support Turkey has directed for the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine,” he said.
Turkey’s implementation of the Montreux Convention, which regulates the passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles in time of war, has earned the praises of NATO and the EU, Czarnecki said.
“The fact that how Turkey perceives the current events are parallel with the EU’s stance intrinsically makes room for more cooperation between the two actors. It indicates that a common response can be generated in order to deal with the humanitarian, security and energy aspects of the crisis,” he added.
On Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent application for EU membership, Czarnecki said that Ukraine’s place in the future is in the EU.
“Because Ukraine is the part of political and cultural Europe. But frankly speaking, it’s not an easy target,” he said.
“As outlined by the EU, countries that desire to become a part of the EU must align their structural agenda in a way to meet the strict accession criteria. In other words, regardless of the recent phenomena, for Ukraine to join the EU, the country should design its legal, political, economic and social structures in accordance with what is essentially expected by an EU Member State,” Czarnecki added.
Noting that the EU is supporting Ukraine economically and politically, he said: “What is initially prioritized by the EU in the recent scene is putting an end to the war and proceeding to the next steps to evaluate the possible paths that need to be taken to answer Ukraine’s request for EU membership rather than immediately starting a process that would naturally bring along procedural difficulties.”
He said that the first step has been taken by Zelenskyy, but “accession is a lengthy process where the candidate should perform an ever-growing compatibility in a gradual and absorbing fashion, which usually takes nearly a decade.” -Agencies
