Erdogan says Turkey won't wait at Europe's door forever

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Speaking at the presidential palace less than two weeks after winning sweeping new powers in a referendum, a relaxed Erdogan said a decision by a leading European human rights body to put Turkey back on a watch list was "entirely political" and that Ankara did not recognize the move.

The Strasbourg-based Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said it put Turkey back on review over its crackdown on dissent since last year's coup attempt, rights violations, and concerns about Erdogan's increased grip on power.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Turkey's relations with the EU soured further ahead of the referendum, when he accused Germany and the Netherlands of acting like Nazis by banning rallies by his supporters.

"In Europe, things have become very serious in terms of the extent of Islamophobia. The EU is closing its doors on Turkey and Turkey isn't closing its doors on anybody," Erdogan said, showing photos of vandalized mosques and supporters of the outlawed Kurdish militants rallying against him in Europe.

"If they're not acting sincerely we have to find a way out. Why should we wait any longer? We're talking about 54 years," he said, referring to the 1963 Ankara Agreement which acknowledged the long-term goal of Turkish membership of a united Europe.

If necessary, he said, Turkey could hold a vote similar to Britain's on EU membership. He said Brexit had given Britain "peace of mind" and that it was "walking towards a new future".

It is a critical week for Turkish-EU relations. EU lawmakers will debate ties on Wednesday, while the bloc's foreign ministers will discuss the issue on Friday.

Erdogan said he would be closely watching.

"I'm very curious as to how the EU is going to act," he said, criticizing EU states that have called for an end to accession talks.

Turkey, he said, was still committed to negotiations.

"There is not a single thing that we are not ready to do, the minute they ask for it. Whatever they wish, we do. But still they are keeping us at the door," he said.

Erdogan pointed to the French presidential election, in which far-right leader Marine Le Pen has threatened to take France out of the European Union, and said the bloc was "on the verge of dissolution, of breaking up".

"One or two countries cannot keep the EU alive. You need a country like Turkey, a different country symbolizing a different faith ... But EU member states don't seem to realize this fact. They are finding it very difficult to absorb a Muslim country like Turkey," he said.