Erdogan: "Being an EU-reject is not the end of the end of the world"

Speaking to Turkish journalists accompanying him in Prague on Tuesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that European Union's stance regarding Turkey as "disrespectful" and that being an EU-reject was not the end of the world. Touching on Turkey's EU process, Erdogan said that Turkey was currently continuing to fulfill its obligations rising out of EU membership negotiations, recalling that Turkey's membership process began in 1959 and was accelerated in 1963. "And we have been patient all this time. How far we have come? When you look, there is the customs union [1996] and the Helsinki summit [1999], when Turkey was given candidate status] and the official start of Turkey's negotiations. We can call these three important steps. Except these three, they only engaged us. Has any other country been treated like this? No. This is in essence disrespect to Turkey. What is more natural than us expressing this situation?" Erdogan noted, adding, "But is the EU a sine qua non for Turkey? Let me say that too, it is not something we can't do without. It is not the end of the world if they don't accept us to the EU. And the world is still here. We are still continuing on our path in a stable manner." The prime minister said it was his responsibility as the prime minister of a country of 76 million to tell his people and the world about the situation regarding the EU process. "And the world has to know about this." He said the Shanghai Five or ASEAN were not alternative searches, emphasizing that none of these international organizations constitute an alternative to another. Erdogan said Turkey only refused to comply with the [additional protocol to the] Ankara Agreement, which necessitates opening ports and harbors to the Greek Cyprus Administration, a country Turkey doesn't recognize, but the EU has completely ignored the timeline scheduled out for Turkey's membership process. "There is a timeline that has been agreed on; this has to happen in six years, this within 12 years. When you look at it, none of these are followed properly. They have been keeping us engaged all this time," Erdogan said, adding that his government was determined to complete the EU process. Erdogan also noted that Turkey's EU minister and chief negotiator Egemen Bagis had visited EU nations 112 times in four years and Brussels only 33 times. Stating that it is unfair to say that the government is not taking the negotiations seriously, Erdogan said, "EU membership is an unchangeable agenda item every week at our Cabinet meetings. Bagis always briefs us on what's being done about the EU process, and which countries he will be visiting in the next two weeks." However, Erdogan said Turkey was continuing to look for new markets everywhere, be that the SCO or ASEAN. "For example, as part of this plan, we are conducting work in Africa. Our trade with Africa was $3.5 million when we came to power, now it stands at $20 million."