Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Ankara, marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Their discussions covered a range of topics, including the ongoing conflict and Turkey’s aspirations for EU membership and BRICS inclusion.
At a joint press conference following the meeting, Fidan stated that Turkey’s EU accession talks had “de facto stopped,” attributing this to what he described as the bloc’s “Islamophobic” stance.
Turkey, a NATO member, was granted EU candidate status in 1999 and began accession negotiations in 2005. However, talks stalled in 2018 due to concerns over democratic backsliding, rule of law issues under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and disputes with EU member Cyprus.
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