Sorwar Alam
18 January 2017•Update: 18 January 2017
By Enes Kaplan
ANKARA
Turkey has been pursuing a balanced foreign policy between the East and the West, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of international media organizations in the Turkish capital, Kalin said Turkey’s NATO membership did not prevent Ankara from establishing close relations with Russia, China or other countries.
"Foreign police is not a zero sum game to us. Getting closer to Russia does not need to have a negative impact on our relations with the U.S. and Europe.
"In the same manner, being a NATO ally does not mean that we will completely cut off our relations with Russia, China, African countries or Latin America," he said, adding Turkey’s geopolitical position necessitated a multifaceted foreign policy.
Kalin said Turkey shared closer views with Russia some while sharing similar views with the U.S. and E.U in some others.
"It is impossible to reduce foreign policy to a single bloc under the current circumstances. Instead, we are pursuing a balanced policy between the East and West.
"Moreover the developments in economy and security force us to adopt a wider perspective," Kalın said.
Erdogan's aide also commented on the future of Turkey-EU relations, associating the lack of "desired momentum" in the accession process with the anti-EU, anti-Turkey and anti-refugee sentiment across the continent.
"If the EU is suffering from 'enlargement fatigue', they should know that Turkey is also feeling tired and indignant because the membership process is not moving forward".
Kalın reiterated that the EU had yet to its commitment to Turkey over a refugee deal signed in March 2016, and went on to say that issues with the visa-free travel agreement could be resolved if the European Commission presented a "reasonable" offer.
Signed on March 18, 2016, the agreement aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The deal included a 6 ($6.8 billion) aid package to help Turkey care for millions of refugees hosted in the country. However, Turkey has so far received only 677 million euros ($716 million).
Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees in the and has so far spent around $25 billion on the refugees.
Ankara is also criticizing the EU for not honoring its promises to relocate some of the Syrian refugees from Turkey.
As of Dec. 5, 2016, 2,761 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey to Europe while 1,187 irregular migrants have been returned from the Greek islands to Turkey, according to the European Commission. Europe had agreed to take 72,000.
The deal also allows for the acceleration of Turkey’s EU membership bid and visa-free travel for Turkish nationals within the Schengen area, on the condition that Ankara meets 72 requirements set by the EU.
While Turkey has fulfilled most of the criteria, differences between Brussels and Ankara on anti-terror legislation have forestalled the visa liberalization deal.
Changing counter-terrorism legislation is a key condition of the visa-free travel agreement between the 28-member bloc and Turkey.
