Turkish PM Binali Yildirim warns Brexit negotiations with EU will be a long ordeal

Warning: Turkish PM Binali Yildirim speaking to the Evening Standard
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As Britain prepares to sit opposite the EU in Brexit talks, one leader with first-hand experience of dealing with Europe from the outside predicts a long ordeal.

“People become exhausted,” warned Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim about the protracted tactics used by Brussels to conduct negotiations. “The main problem with the EU is it has become a very bureaucratic state, instead of a political state.

“High-level officials are running it on behalf of members. So decision-making on any subject takes much longer and people are exhausted.”

In an interview with the Evening Standard during a visit to London, Mr Yildirim spoke candidly about Britain’s prospects of a much-vaunted trade deal. It turns out that it may take longer than some people have bargained for.

“We don’t want to lose what we have now,” he said, adding that Turkish ministers are already busy forming working groups on a post-Brexit trade agreement.

But how long does he expect it to take? “This is quite new for everybody,” he said cautiously. “They will learn by their mistakes. Nobody knows. Some say two years. Others say three or four years.”

Turkey is the only country outside the EU that has a customs union with it, which it wants to expand to cover agriculture and services. Would he recommend such an arrangement for the UK? “Yes, it is going to be much easier than otherwise,” he said instantly.

Mr Yildirim is disappointed with the EU’s “deep confusion” over Turkey’s membership application, which has been under discussion since 1999.

He also says Europe has flagrantly broken promises to help more than 2.2 million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey under a deal to stop families trying to cross the Mediterranean.

“We saved life, we educate children, we care for them and keep them on our soil,” he said.

“Europe should appreciate this and take responsibility for how we can share the load. Otherwise they would be saying ‘Welcome to Europe!’”

The PM said Turkey’s relations with Russia had recovered from the shooting down of an Su-24 war plane on the border with Syria in 2015
EPA

He firmly denied plans to scrap the refugee deal in retaliation, contrary to some reports, insisting: “We are not going to let these people die in treacherous waters simply because we are angry with Europe.”

But he appealed for more co-operation, including intelligence-sharing, to defeat Islamic State. “The safety of Europe and the security of European people start from Turkey,” he pointed out. “If we do not have the necessary security measures in Turkey, Europe will not be safe.”

By contrast he praised the “pragmatism” of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, saying relations between the two countries were almost fully recovered from the trauma when Turkish F16s shot down a Russian Su-24 attack plane on its border with Syria in November 2015.

He described Donald Trump as “a very good president” who was on a “learning curve”. “He is learning fast and taking decisions quickly,” he said. Was Mr Trump an improvement on the Obama administration? “I believe, not now, maybe later, this administration will better understand the situation.”

Next week, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be with Mr Trump in Washington discussing, among other security concerns, what Mr Yildirim calls “the Gülen Problem”.

What to do about Fethullah Gülen, the president’s former ally turned bitter enemy, now a wanted man and exiled in Pennsylvania.

President Erdogan, however, is a deeply controversial figure accused of purging some 145,000 officials including judges and teachers, having 49,000 people arrested, closing media outlets and denounced by Amnesty for “a crackdown of exceptional proportions” following the failed coup of July 15 last year.

On Friday 53 former employees of the Istanbul stock exchange were held in dawn raids for alleged links to Gülen. Did Turkey accept that its image around the world was being harmed by the crackdown?

Mr Yildirim responded with incredulity that Western leaders had criticised the treatment of people he regarded as criminals and terrorists embedded in the state. “What they did is say, ‘Please be polite to those that organised the coup, treat them nicely’. What is this? It is not acceptable.”

But wasn’t blocking Wikipedia, a symbol of modern social media and freedom, impossible to justify to international opinion?

On April 29, Turks found access denied to the online encyclopaedia due to what the authorities called “an administrative measure”. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales responded by saying: “Access to information is a fundamental human right.”

Mr Yildirim responded that it would be unblocked if pro-terrorist articles were removed in compliance with a court order. “If they carry out the court decision then everything will be normal,” he claimed.

He is to be Turkey’s last prime minister, as the office is due to be abolished at the next election under the transfer of sweeping executive powers to President Erdogan, whom some now call a dictator. What sort of man is the president whose hardline policies have caused outrage around the world?

“He is probably one of the most merciful persons in the world,” responded Mr Yildirim. “You get to know him more closely you would really like him. He does not play games. He speaks his mind. He does not like to get lost in the labyrinths of diplomacy. That is why some people do not like him.”

He pointed out that Mr Erdogan himself had been imprisoned and banned from politics for dissent. But had the powerful president perhaps forgotten his own struggle in his determination to crack down on enemies?

“They are not true,” Mr Yildirim said of the claims. “Unfortunately some of our European friends, allies, are influenced. They listen to representatives of terrorist organisations and they take their words at face value.”

He added: “In Europe, Islamophobia is on the rise, and anti-Semitism is on the rise. What are Europeans doing about it?”

Did he think Turkey had a role in promoting a more moderate Islam in its region? “It is not enough to teach,” said the last prime minister. “You have to lead by example.”

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