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Türkiye criticized the European Union's "Common Understanding" document, stating it ignores Ankara's candidate status and lacks a strategic, fair approach.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli issued a written statement on Friday addressing the references to Türkiye in the text, which the EU published on July 15, 2026.
"The document, which ignores Türkiye's candidate status, reveals the EU's inadequacy in developing a common vision for the future with our country," Keceli said.
He said the references to Türkiye lacked a strategic and fair approach and showed that the bloc had failed to develop a shared future vision with Ankara.
Keceli also criticized the timing and tone of the document, saying it appeared to be aimed at overshadowing the NATO Ankara summit.
"It is seen that the document in question was written in a tone that seeks to overshadow this reality, following the historic NATO Ankara summit, where the foundations of a new era were laid in which European allies assumed significant additional responsibilities within NATO and Türkiye's indispensable role was confirmed," he said.
Keceli said the document included what he described as baseless claims regarding the Eastern Mediterranean.
"The baseless claims made in the document in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean indicate that the EU has not been able to free itself from the influence of a biased and distorted understanding," he said.
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On the Cyprus issue, Keceli said Türkiye again recalled that a settlement had been obstructed by the Greek Cypriot side.
He said the Greek Cypriot side rejected the United Nations Comprehensive Settlement Plan, which was accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side in 2004, and later caused the Cyprus Conference in 2017 to end without a result by adopting what Ankara described as an uncompromising stance.
"We invite the EU to adopt a realistic vision and discourse in line with the interests of both sides," Keceli said.
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