Turkey PM to attend summit with EU leaders on November 29
Ahmet Davutoglu - Photo EU Council
(ANKARA) - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will attend an extraordinary summit with EU leaders next week to improve bilateral ties and tackle the migrant crisis, his office announced on Monday.
European Union President Donald Tusk called Davutoglu to invite him for the November 29 summit which will be hosted by leaders of members states. Turkey's relations with the EU will be discussed thoroughly, Davutoglu's office said.
"Prime Minister Davutoglu replied that he would be delighted to attend the summit."
The statement from the PM's office appears to indicate that it will be Davutoglu who represents Turkey at the summit, not President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan's press aide, contacted by AFP, said a visit to Brussels was "not on the agenda" for now.
Ankara is negotiating with the EU an action plan to tackle the flow of refugees reaching Europe, mostly by risky sea journeys after leaving for Turkey, which is currently playing host to 2.2 million Syrian refugees.
The EU is planning to give Turkey cash help as well as provide visa-free travel for Turkish nationals, and Ankara wants to revive long-stalled membership negotiations with the bloc.
Davutoglu told Tusk that Turkey is ready to improve cooperation with its "European partners" in every field and work together for its membership process based on a "common vision," his office said.