Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday said Turkey demanded fair treatment as with all European Union candidate countries on free movement of Turkish nationals in member countries.
"We just want a dialogue which aims securing visa exemptions. We want equal treatment with other countries. Nothing more, nothing less," Davutoglu told reporters in an Istanbul meeting with leaders of a peace initiative from Iraq’s Tal Afar city.
Davutoglu remarks came a day after an EU council of interior and justice ministers refused to authorize the European Commission to launch negotiations with Turkey that could lead to visa-free travel for Turkish nationals on EU soil.
Media reports have earlier quoted the Turkish foreign minister as saying that a readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey would not be signed or implemented unless negotiations over visa-free travel was launched.
"The decision of the ministers council is far from being satisfactory," Davutoglu said.