Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 62 together.

21 and 32 together.

Türkiye is an important regional partner and candidate country for EU membership, with which Ireland continues to maintain a productive relationship across the full range of our shared priorities.

I met with my Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, in September. During a wide-ranging conversation, I once again expressed my deep condolences for all those who lost their lives in Türkiye following devastating earthquakes in February 2023. I underlined the close bilateral relations that our countries enjoy, and recalled that Türkiye is an important partner for the EU, while further reiterating the EU’s wish to see progress on key fundamentals such as sanctions circumvention, and compliance with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. Other topics touched upon included improved relations in the eastern Mediterranean as well as modalities for engagement on the Cyprus problem.

Most recently, I again met with Foreign Minister Fidan in the margins of the 8th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, in November, during which we discussed the situation in Gaza.