President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the European Union of injustice, but said Turkey's membership in the EU remains Ankara's priority, calling on the bloc to take a more courageous stance on efforts to improve bilateral relations, Sabah reported.

Erdogan said he has personally witnessed attempts to block Turkey's bid for EU membership. He said that Turkey is committed to its goal of becoming a member, adding that accession is a priority for Ankara despite all the injustices.

Turkey continues its efforts, he said. He expressed hope that the EU would get rid of what he called strategic blindness and act more courageously in developing relations with Ankara. Stressing Turkey's critical role in solving important problems, Erdoğan criticized the EU for its destructive stance.

Erdogan said that the EU should prevent attempts to sabotage Turkey-EU relations under the pretext of solidarity.

He concluded by saying that Europe would have faced a completely different picture if there were not Turkey's tremendous efforts, referring to the wave of migrants from Syria.