Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a ceremony awarding the Supreme Order of Turkic Peace, that his country has been waiting at the door of the European Union for 52 years and is ready to give the necessary response when the time comes.
"We have been made to suffer at the door of the EU for 52 years. Still they keep doing the same thing," the Turkish leader said, promising that Ankara will give an answer "when the time comes."
The agency points out that Turkey signed an association agreement with the EU (then called the EEC) in 1963 and formally declared its desire to become a member of the union in 1987. Nevertheless, negotiations on Ankara's admission to the EU only began in 2005, and the process was repeatedly interrupted due to disagreements between the parties.
