Swedish PM Fredrick Reinfeldt said his country supports Turkey’s membership in the EU, during a press conference with Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sweden today.
Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a press conference with Reinfeldt in Sweden’s government building Rosenbad, located in the capital Stockholm. During the meeting they discussed envrinoment and energy issues as well as the Syrian conflict.
Reinfeldt said Turkey has spent over 50 years negotiating with the EU and said a new chapter has opened for the country. "Sweden is supporting Turkey and hoping for more chapters to open."
“We believe that Turkey should be a member of the EU," stated Sweden’s PM. “Of course there are different criterias. A new chapter has opened, we hope and want other chapters to open as well.”
- Turkish peace process
When asked what needs to be done about the steps taken in the Turkish peace process, PM Reinfeldt said, “We discussed this with the Prime Minister, and talked about it earlier. PKK is a terrorist organization, that’s how it is seen in the EU. We do not believe that a political solution can be found using violence.”
Reforms have been made by the Turkish government, aimed at minorities involving education, their language and culture. “We believe these are huge steps and all are the way to lower the tension," stated Reinfeldt.
“We are satisfied with how things have been dealt with till today and we hope the long-lasting settlements will proceed the right way. Of course there are different views on this topic in Europe but here in Sweden we want Turkey become closer to Europe. And, we are in favour of Turkey joining the EU," said Sweden’s Prime Minister.
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