H.E. Mr. Levent Murat Burhan:

To conclude, as I said in my presentation, we consider ourselves part of the European family. If one thinks about the history of Europe, one cannot write it or rewrite it without Turkey. The Balkans are very close to us. It is a neighbouring region. We expect all Balkan countries, including, of course, North Macedonia and Albania, to become full members. We believe that we will be able to overcome our difficulties, which we are going through in this delicate period. In order to overcome these present difficulties, we need more dialogue. We need more channels of communication to be opened, and to remain open. We do not want the opposite. We need also the co-operation of the other side in this respect, but our final aim is to become a full member of the EU. This is our strategic objective.

I was asked what the opinion of Turkish people is. The people were asked if they thought becoming a member of the EU would be good for Turkey. The answer was 75% to 80% "Yes". If the question was whether the people believed Turkey would become a member of the EU, the percentage would go down.