EU Commission chief's remarks on Türkiye were 'unfortunate,' says Turkish foreign minister

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that recent remarks by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were “unfortunate”, adding that the issue has since been addressed through diplomatic channels.

Speaking at Oxford University, Fidan said: “President' remarks were unfortunate, we have necessary communications, so I think we have fixed it, corrected.”

His comments came in response to a speech delivered by von der Leyen earlier this week in Hamburg, where she was marking the 80th anniversary of the newspaper Die Zeit.

Addressing the question of EU enlargement, she said: “We must succeed in completing the European continent so that it is not influenced by Russia, Türkiye, or China.”