Erdoğan’s chief advisor criticizes EU demands from Turkey

Speaking to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency in Sarajevo, where he was attending a conference, Yalçın Topçu said the EU “could not damage our fight against terrorism on this visa pretext. This is not moral or faithful to the deal.”      

On May 4, the European Commission proposed visa-free travel in the Schengen zone for Turks as part of a deal that would see Turkey stem the refugee flow to Europe in exchange for speeding up its EU membership bid.    
  
However, among five remaining benchmarks for Turkey to address in order for its citizens to benefit from visa-free travel, the EU has called for changes to Ankara’s legislation on terrorism – a demand criticized and rejected by the Turkish government.      

Topçu said Turkey was the country “most affected by terrorism,” with many soldiers and citizens having been killed.      

“Unfortunately, we cannot see the necessary support from our friends [in counter-terrorism],” he added.
      
Topçu also said “certain countries” are supporting terrorist organizations targeting Turkey. “We hope our friends will give up aiding and abetting [the] terrorist organization,” he added.