Ruling Turkish party: Brexit chaos causes big problems

ADANA, Turkey

The continuing chaos over Britain’s planned exit from the EU is creating problems for both the block and Britain, Turkey's ruling party said on Friday.

"The Brexit deadlock is a big problem for the EU and the U.K.," Omer Celik, Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesperson, told Anadolu Agency.

Celik said Turkey has respected the British people's will but its leaving the EU is not good for Turkey.

"In fact the U.K. had a balancing position within the EU," he said, adding that it has supported Turkey in the bloc.

He said politicians in the EU are increasingly surrendering to Islamophobia and anti-Turkish sentiment.

"Perhaps Britain will leave without an agreement," Celik said, adding that the EU is unable to hold countries together in the union.

"So the EU has problems sustaining its values," he added.

"As we always say, if the EU had given Turkey full membership, it wouldn't have faced any of these problems," he said.

On Friday, by a 286-344 vote, Britain's parliament rejected the EU withdrawal agreement for a third time.

On Wednesday, British lawmakers failed to back any of the eight options put forward as alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, deepening the chaos around the country’s departure from the EU.

Britain is now slated to leave the union on April 12, but as yet there is no deal for doing so.

U.K. voters decided to leave the bloc after a more than 40-year membership in a 2016 referendum.