Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has slammed British Prime Minister David Cameron over his recent remarks on Turkey’s EU accession process, in which he suggested that Turkey is still decades from joining the union.
“Pathetically, the prime minister of the United Kingdom has made it his business to insult Turkey from time to time. This person, who is the heir of imperialism, says: ‘At the current rate of progress, Turkey will join in around the year 3000,’” Bahçeli said, speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting on June 21.
“Look at the contradiction of the country of this person, which will hold a referendum in two days to leave the EU. The U.K. prime minister has clearly become angry and confused after being caught up in the Panama papers,” he added, referring to the leak of documents created by law firm Mossack Fonseca in April, in which Cameron was implicated.
MHP leader vowed to deal with the “Anglo-Saxon mentality” and “English sneakiness” if necessary, as the Turkish nation has done in the past.
Bahçeli also stated the time has come for Turkey to talk seriously about joining the EU, urging the government to show “wisdom and courage” to realize this goal.
Last month, British Prime Minister said it would be decades before Turkey could possibly join the EU, estimating that it might happen in the year 3000 on current progress.
“It is not remotely on the cards that Turkey is going to join the EU at any time soon,” Cameron told ITV television.
“They applied in 1987. At the current rate of progress, they’d probably get round to joining in about the year 3000,” he said.
Britain will go to a referendum dubbed “Brexit” on June 23 to decide whether the country should leave or remain in the European Union. Cameron wants the country to stay in the EU. (Hürriyet Daily News)