Turkish foreign minister meets EU commissioner for home affairs

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday met with Ylva Johansson, the EU commissioner for home affairs, who was paying a working visit to the capital Ankara.

It is important for Turkey to "keep positive agenda with the EU," Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

Turkey is expecting "concrete steps on migration, visa liberalization and (the) fight against terrorism," he added.

The visit comes amid growing contacts between Turkey – a candidate for European Union membership – and officials from the bloc.

Turkish officials have said they expect steps from the EU on visa liberalization, as promised under a 2016 migrant deal with Turkey but never delivered.

Turkey has also pressed Europe to take a principled stance against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind a defeated 2016 coup in Turkey that left over 250 people dead. Despite this, accused FETO members still find refuge in several European countries.

It has also urged the EU to do more to oppose the YPG/PKK.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian branch.