Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday said the European Union cannot achieve its goal of becoming a power hub without Turkey.
"It is not possible for the EU to achieve its goal of becoming the center of attraction and power without Turkey as a full member," Erdoğan said, addressing the South- East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
Ankara expects the EU to "immediately rid itself of its strategic blindness", and to advance the accession process within the framework of a positive agenda, he said.
Also, criticizing the increasing racism, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant sentiment on a global scale, he said they are gradually turning into a national security problem.
This year's summit under the term presidency of Turkey also marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the SEECP.
The SEECP brings together Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Croatia, Moldova and Montenegro and "is a symbol of the common will of the countries of the region to improve cooperation among themselves and to bring lasting stability in South East Europe," according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The next term president for the SEECP will be Greece.
