Schulz to meet Erdogan in Ankara

The president of the European Parliament will be meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an official visit to Turkey on Thursday.

Martin Shulz will meet Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara, following meetings with Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party and the speaker of the Grand National Assembly.

He will later meet Turkey’s minister of foreign affairs.

In a statement on Wednesday, Schulz said that the European Union’s commitment to democracy, democratic values and the rule of law in Turkey was and will remain unwavering.

“My visit aims to pay tribute to all Turkish citizens who courageously took to the streets to defend democracy in the country,” he said.

Schulz said his aim was to set the political dialogue on the right footing once again and to openly discuss all relevant issues related to the bilateral and regional cooperation between the EU and Turkey, including security and the refugee crisis.

“Turkey is a candidate country and strategic partner of the EU,” he said. “We need to talk to each other, rather than at each other, in order to productively tackle the momentous challenges we are confronted with.”