Belgian PM terms meeting with Erdogan ‘open, sincere’

By Yusuf Hatip

BRUSSELS

Belgium and Turkey have decided to revive the relatively slowed-down relations, Belgian prime minister said on Tuesday.

In an interview with the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, Charles Michel termed Monday’s meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York as “open and sincere.”

Michel and Erdogan gathered in New York ahead of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly to be held on Tuesday.

“We exchanged views on different matters. The issues of Turkey’s geopolitical role in Syria, fight against terrorism, migration, Turkey’s relations with the European Union, the U.S., and Russia were discussed,” Michel said.

“We’ve decided to revive our relatively slowed-down relations with Turkey. We plan to hold meetings between our security units soon."

“On the other hand, we will restart the trilateral meetings between justice, foreign and interior ministers of the two countries, which were halted after the failed coup attempt in Turkey,” he added.

The Belgian premier also said Belgium and Turkey were on the same page to sustain the cooperation in the fight against terrorism.