Speaking to Welt am Sonntag, Davutoğlu said Turkey has good relations with all countries of the region. “Our principles are clear: political dialogue with administrative offices, a peaceful security zone, economic stability, and multi-cultural and multi-religious harmony,” he said.
Asked why some EU countries showed such a strong objection to Turkey's membership in the Union, Davutoğlu said: "Actually we don't understand why. It is not understandable, when we consider the EU's basic values as well as Turkey's historical relations with its allies. We are a part of Europe in the historical aspect. There are some European countries that cannot even write their own history without our archives. Nobody can deny the role of Turkey in winning the Cold War. We defended Europe during the Cold War era, but some Europeans think we should stay in NATO and not join the EU. They don't understand Turkey: Turkey is not a tough power, it is a rising moderate force."
