ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey hopes to “turn a new page” in its ties with the United States and European Union, and that Ankara had been subjected to “double standards” by both its NATO ally Washington and the bloc.
Earlier this month, Washington sanctioned Turkey over its acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defences, and the EU also prepared punitive measures over Turkey’s dispute with members Greece and Cyprus over Mediterranean offshore rights.
“Turkey is facing double standards both over the eastern Mediterranean and the S-400s. We wish for the EU to rid itself of the strategic blindness that is plaguing it as soon as possible,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party.
“I think (U.S. President-elect Joe) Biden will show the necessary importance to Turkey-U.S. ties,” he added.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
