VIENNA
Turkey will “never give up” its goal of EU membership, the country’s Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.
"Turkey is the most long-suffering country in the world for the EU accession as we have not got full membership for over 60 years," Bozdag said during a meeting of the Union of European Turkish Democrats in Vienna on Saturday.
"Can you imagine? We are knocking the EU's door for 60 years despite no answer, but we will never give up applying to the EU."
Turkey started EU membership negotiations in 2005 but has aspired to join the bloc since shortly after it was founded as the European Economic Community in 1957.
Referring to values such as the rule of law, democracy and human rights, Bozdag added: “Turkey is a country that shares and adopts these values.”
He explained that Turkey’s membership would bridge the European and Muslim world. "Racism and Islamophobia, both pose dangers for humanity,” he said. “We should take steps to prevent them."
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