Turkish president, top EU officials meet via video link

Seeking to build on renewed momentum for better ties, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 19 met with top EU officials.

Via videoconference, Erdoğan spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel.

Also present at the 45-minute meeting were Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın.

On Thursday, a top EU official told Anadolu Agency that at the meeting, top EU officials will seek to boost cooperation and develop a mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey, a candidate for membership in the bloc.

The negotiations will "focus on how to ensure stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and develop a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey," said the EU official, who declined to be named.
EU summit, 2016 migrant deal

The meeting came ahead of the EU leaders' summit next week, when EU heads of state and government will discuss the future of the bloc's relationship with Ankara, including the 2016 migration deal.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell suggested on Monday that the deal to stop irregular flows of asylum seekers to Europe and improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in Turkey would be renewed "in some form."

The pact "has been very much criticized, but it seems that this statement has produced tangible results. It has led to a significant decrease of loss of human lives, a reduction in irregular crossing, and improved the situation of refugees and migrants in Turkey," he said.

But Ankara has frequently accused the EU of failing to deliver on its promises under the pact.

The bloc in December 2020 concluded...