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DPA
ISTANBUL
TURKEY has no intention of severing ties with the European Union but it expects the bloc to do its part in return, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
Erdogan was speaking to reporters in Ankara ahead of his departure for Brussels where he is scheduled to participate in a NATO summit.
While there, the president is expected to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk.
Earlier this month, Erdogan urged the EU to accelerate long-standing negotiations for Turkey's accession to the bloc, or else end them for good.
The EU has been critical of what is perceived to be a heavy-handed crackdown on political opponents and the press following a failed coup attempt last year.
"We have no intention to break away from the EU but surely the EU too should do its part," Erdogan said Wednesday, adding Turkey is"doing the best it can" regarding harmonizing its laws with that of the EU. Erdogan said he will discuss with EU leaders the future of its proposed membership and"ask them what they expect of us".
The EU should make human rights central to talks with Erdogan and urge him to restore the rule of law at home, a Human Rights Watch statement said this week.
Meanwhile, Erdogan said Turkey will"say goodbye" to German troops if Germany decides to withdraw personnel from the Incirlik airbase.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the possibility of withdrawing soldiers from Incirlik, in southern Turkey, after a German parliamentary delegation was denied access to the base earlier this month.
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25/05/2017
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