On Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey might "part ways" from the European Union, suggesting that the country is contemplating halting its pursuit of membership in the 27-nation bloc, The Associated Press reports.

“The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey. […] We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU,” he told reporters prior to leaving for the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

This was his response to the question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament that stated “the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore ‘a parallel and realistic framework’ for EU-Turkey relations.”

Turkey submitted its application for European Union membership in 1999, and negotiations for accession commenced in 2005. However, these accession talks were halted in 2018 due to concerns about "democratic backsliding," as stated by the European Parliament.