EU's von der Leyen tells Erdoğan 'human rights non-negotiable'

Photos: AA

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has met with Charles Michel, the head of the EU Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission, at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

Following the nearly three-hour meeting, at a press conference at the EU Delegation to Turkey, Michel said: "The EU is ready to present a concrete agenda to strengthen cooperation on the economy and immigration, and inter-societal ties."

He said the EU recognizes the strategic importance of mutually beneficial and positive relations with Turkey and security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Leyen said the visit is meant to give an impetus to Turkey-EU relations, adding that areas of mutually beneficial cooperation were covered during their meeting with Erdogan.

When asked about Turkey's failure to implement ECtHr decisions for the release of businessperson and rights defender Osman Kavala and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, von der Leyen said human rights were "not a negotiable issue."

She also said they urged Erdoğan to return to the İstanbul Convention on combating violence against women but could not convince him.

"We will deal with current hardships in implementation of the Customs Union and eventually work to update it," she added, referring to a 1995 trade deal between Turkey and the bloc. (PT/VK)