LOC15:38
12:38 GMT
ANKARA, Feb 21 (KUNA) -- Turkey on Thursday rejected a recent resolution by a European Parliament (EP) committee calling for halting Ankara's EU membership negotiations.
The European Parliament's Committee for Foreign Affairs voted Wednesday to accept a draft advisory report that calls for suspending accession talks between Ankara and the EP.
"The call in the draft report -- which is not legally binding and bears only the status of an advisory decision -- to officially suspend our country's accession negotiations with the EU is absolutely unacceptable," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement carried by Anadolu news agency.
He claimed the draft report reflected the "EU's biased and prejudiced attitude" towards Turkey, but vowed that Ankara would continue to push for its amendment.
"We expect the necessary changes to be made for a more realistic, unbiased and encouraging final report which will be accepted in March at the European Parliament's general assembly," said the spokesman.
Aksoy stressed that Turkey would continue to adopt reforms for accession into the bloc and Ankara expected the European Parliament to honor its pledged obligations towards Turkey.
Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987 and accession talks began in 2005.
But negotiations stalled in 2007 due to the objection of Cyprus, Germany and France. (end)
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