Turkey and EU discuss mutual ties

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Brussels this week in order to meet with President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

The parties focused on Turkey's integration into the European Union. According to the EU officials, the EU pays special attention to the process and welcomes the progress made so far.

Vestnik Kavkaza discussed the issue with deputy head of the Republican People's Party of Turkey, President of European Centre of Strategic Research Faruk Logoglu and representative of the International Research Centre (USAK) Hasan Selim Ozertem.

According to Logoglu, Erdogan's visit to Brussels won't contribute anything to the integration process. While in Brussels, Erdogan focused on Turkey's internal problems and didn't talk much about the EU, the expert underlines. That's not what a Turkish leader should do, he believes.

Ozertem says, however, that the prime minister's visit did highlight Turkey's interest in cooperation with the EU and show that this interest is mutual.