BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union foreign ministers were seeking a way out of a stalemate on membership talks with Turkey on Friday, as ties between the two have sunk to their lowest level in years.
EU ministers also will meet with their Turkish counterpart in Valletta, Malta, for the first high-level meeting since the divisive referendum in Turkey that gives more powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his stinging criticism of several EU nations, some of which he compared to Nazis.
“The current situation as it is, is definitely not sustainable and this in a way frustrating for both sides,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said.
While some ministers are calling for sustained relations with a pillar of the NATO alliance and a major partner in controlling the flow of migrants into the EU from Syria and beyond, others are calling for change.
“There are so many areas where we need a correct, friendly and productive cooperation that we have to see, together with our Turkish colleagues, how we can improve the situation,” Hahn said.