Ankara / Anadolu

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said that the references to Turkey in the 'Common Understanding' document published by the European Union on Wednesday lack a 'strategic and fair approach'.

Keçeli, in a statement published on the US-based platform 'X' on Friday, explained that the document ignores Turkey's status as a candidate country for EU membership.

He added: 'It is observed that the document was drafted after the historic NATO summit in Ankara, which confirmed Turkey's indispensable role, and in a manner that seeks to obscure this fact.'

He noted that the claims in the document regarding the Eastern Mediterranean are baseless and indicate that the EU remains captive to a biased and distorted understanding of events.

Regarding the Cyprus issue, the spokesperson stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side agreed to the UN comprehensive settlement plan in 2004, while the Greek Cypriot side rejected it, and also adopted a rigid stance during the 2017 Cyprus conference, leading to the failure of the political process.

Keçeli emphasized that this once again proves that the Greek Cypriot side obstructed efforts to reach a solution.

In conclusion of his statements, he called on the EU to adopt a more realistic and balanced vision and discourse that serves the interests of all parties.