Poland backs Turkey’s bid for liberal EU visa policy

ANKARA

Warsaw supports Ankara's bid for a liberal EU visa policy for its citizens if the country fulfills all technical criteria, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Wednesday.

Addressing a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Waszczykowski said: “We do not want to apply visa regime for Turkish citizens at a time when we are asking [Turkey] for lifting of visa restrictions for Polish people.”

Cavusoglu said Polish citizens require visas even while entering Turkey at its airports or border gates, “but we want the remove these visas as soon as possible”.

He thanked Poland not only for supporting its bid for relaxation in visa restrictions, but also “for supporting Turkey’s EU membership process”.

He said he was confident that after Turkey fulfilled its obligations, the EU will lift its visa regime by the end of June this year. “Our citizens deserve that,” Cavusoglu said, adding: “Our citizens are not asylum seekers. Even our citizens living in Europe want to return to Turkey.”

The foreign ministers also discussed the growing Russian threat and the Syrian conflict.