Will Turkey join EU in the near future? German Foreign Minister remains doubtful

Germany's Foreign Minister expressed skepticism over Turkey's potential accession to the European Union (EU) due to the “human rights issues" existing in the middle eastern nation. Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday, German minister Annalena Baerbock said that the country faces uncertainty because it has failed to meet the prerequisites of joining the bloc. 

“Is because important [criteria] that are essential for these talks … have not been met [by Turkiye]," she said in the Belgian capital, adding Ankara is being held at an arm's distance as it is “not an easy neighbor” of the EU. However, she later added that the country is a “global strategically important actor” and is in Europe’s “direct vicinity."

Baerbock highlighted that Turkey requires a different approach of handling matters of foreign importance, and the reelection of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the president this May is a significant moment for “strategic reflection” on the nation's potential entry into the bloc. 

Russia expresses doubt over Turkey's entry to EU 

While she did express Germany's openness in reconciling with Turkey and providing support for “a strategic and forward-looking approach," she warned that Europe is “not naive” when it comes to getting a new member, especially as the region witnesses increased tensions and “geopolitically challenging times.”

But Germany isn't the only country apprehensive about Turkey's fate in the EU. Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged Turkey to not hold high hopes as "nobody wants to see" it being a part of the region. “Turkey can orient itself to the West, we know that in the history of the Republic of Turkey there were periods of intensive orientation to the West, there were periods of less intensive ones. But we also know that… no one wants to see Turkey in Europe, I mean the Europeans. And here our Turkish partners should not wear rose-tinted spectacles either,” he said, according to Sputnik.