MHP leader calls for end to Türkiye's EU membership talks

ANKARA

Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the ruling People's Alliance partner Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has declared that his party believes the European Union chapter is closed for Türkiye, urging for the permanent closure of the membership negotiations.

"It is really time for Türkiye, it is time to put an end to the Brussels adventure... If the European Union does not want us, makes all sorts of excuses... then we share our party's view with our beloved nation that we don't already want them and that the membership adventure should end as soon as possible," Bahçeli said following his party's central executive board meeting on Sept. 19.

Türkiye stands at a crossroads and needs to make a decision regarding its future relationship with the EU, Bahçeli argued.

The MHP leader also criticized EU leaders' proposal for a strategic partnership with Türkiye instead of full membership. "They want to keep us in the orbit of dependency by consoling us. They want us to look for what we cannot find in Ankara on the doorsteps of Brussels," he stated.

Bahçeli went on to criticize the EU's negotiation process, describing it as "dirty, spiteful, and covered with historical calculations." He called for the closure of the negotiation book, whether unilaterally or bilaterally, and declared, "For us, the European Union is over."

Türkiye is well-equipped to build a generation of friends around it with its historical heritage, cultural richness and principles of brotherhood and good neighborliness, according to Bahçeli.

He also touched on Türkiye's alliance with NATO, stating that it is necessary to discuss the alliance and, if needed, reconsider the alliance law in line with national values.

"Everyone should know that we are not condemned to NATO... The Turkish Republic is fully independent. In the new century of the republic, it is our national aim to get rid of all internal and external humpbacks," Bahçeli remarked.