European architecture cannot be complete without Türkiye, Erdogan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that Europe’s political and security architecture cannot be complete without Türkiye.

In a statement released on the occasion of Europe Day on May 9, the Turkish president described the day as "a concrete manifestation of the goal of building a shared future based on peace, cooperation, and mutual respect."

Erdogan stressed that Türkiye’s European Union accession process remains strategically important and argued that the EU’s need for Türkiye is greater than Türkiye’s need for the bloc.

He also pointed to the growing challenges facing the European Union, including geopolitical conflicts, economic instability, and political crises affecting the global order.

"Wars, political crises, and economic problems whose effects are felt globally require the European Union to pursue more inclusive and unifying policies," Erdogan added.

According to him, Türkiye, as an EU candidate country, remains one of the key and irreplaceable elements of this process.