VIENNA - Chief advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister said on Monday that the European Union (EU) would definitely need Turkey if it desired to become a global power.
Addressing a group of diplomats, journalists and students after attending a conference on Turkey-EU relations in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s Chief Advisor Prof. Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey`s full membership to EU would strengthen the union.
Noting that Europe should think globally for its future, Davutoglu said Europe`s new vision necessitated making strategic connections with Asia and Africa.
"Turkey is the key country that will help Europe accomplish its vision," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu also said that Turkey had close relations with its neighbors in the Middle East and the Caucasus region.
"Turkey`s role in the region is based on finding solutions to the existing problems, not on creating new crises," he said.
Davutoglu said that countries of the region which had problems with each other, confided in Turkey.
"This is because Turkish officials do not hesitate to express the issues they discuss behind closed doors at international platforms as well," he said.
(DO-AÖ)
(DIP)