Top EU Officials Head to Turkey for a Reset
Voice of America
ISTANBUL - Top European Union officials head to Turkey Tuesday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to reset relations.
In a bid to ease the latest tensions, European Council president Charles Michel and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will seek a framework for cooperation with Turkey when they meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday. The EU wants to continue a 2016 refugee agreement that turned Turkey into Europe's gatekeeper for migrants and refugees. Analyst Sinan Ulgen of the Edam research organization in Istanbul said Ankara is ready for a deal - at a price. "The Turkish government seems to want to extend this deal provided that the EU sets up a funding mechanism that is similar to the financial package of years past. And also, the EU will give the go-ahead to the start of the negotiations for the modernization of the customs union (agreement) and the revitalization of the visa liberalization process," said Ulgen.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.