The European Union Foreign Affairs Council has postponed discussion of the post-election situation in Turkey to its July meeting, daily Cumhuriyet reported.
The topic was expected to be included in the agenda for Monday’s meeting in Luxemburg.
“We need more time to see what Turkey’s policies will be,” an EU official said on condition of anonymity. “There is a government that could implement some changes. As such, we wanted to give more time to see where developments will go.”
The upcoming meeting will instead focus on the continued Russian aggression on Ukraine, and EU relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. Armenia and Azerbaijan may also be discussed.
Agenda for the 20 July meeting, when Turkey will be discussed, has not been announced yet. The meeting will take place after NATO’s Vilnius summit on 11-12 July, and the alliance expects to see Turkey lift its veto on EU member state Sweden’s bid for accession.
However, leveraging the first war on European soil in a long time, Turkey demands Sweden shift its anti-terror policies, including on Swedish citizens and asylum seekers that Turkey considers to be terrorists. Sweden has refused to fully comply with Turkey’s demands, while still updating its legislation.