Kuwait- EU: no more membership talks if Turkey reintroduces death penalty
Date
8/9/2016 12:48:12 AM
(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Aug 8 (KUNA) -- The European Union (EU) repeated Monday its position that Turkey cannot become a member of the EU if it decides to reinstate the death penalty. "That will lead to immediate breaking of negotiations," a spokesperson for the European Commission Mina Andreeva told a news conference on Monday.
Moreover, when asked by a journalist as to why the EU has signed a nuclear deal with Iran, which has one of the highest number of executions in the world, the spokesperson replied that the "two countries are not comparable." "Turkey is aspiring to become an EU member, and in that sense, it would be a deal breaker in the membership negotiations. Iran at this stage is not seeking to become a member of the EU," Andreeva stated.
Meanwhile, on the issue of granting EU visa-free travel to Turkey , the spokesperson repeated that Turkey has to fulfill all of the 72 conditions in order to be eligible for visa-free travel.
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday renewed calls to reintroduce the death penalty at a huge rally in Istanbul. (end) nk.nam
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